The Man Behind the Thin Blue Line
by Awen Sofer
Summary: Ichigo is a good cop, a great man, and her friend. Will he ever be more? Riko loves him despite himself sometimes. Hopefully, maybe, one day, he will see her as more than a friend. AU/OC
1. Chapter 1

Ichigo flexed his fingers in the black leather fingerless gloves he was wearing. Peering around the corner of the building he was pressed against, he was confident his black uniform enabled him to hide in the shadows. Looking down the wide space between the buildings, he could see his redheaded partner Renji crouched down behind the dumpster with his gun aimed toward the end of the alley. He hated this: the moment it became necessary to draw his service weapon. Although he was a police officer, he had not joined for the big guns and being a badass to boost his self-esteem. He had joined the police force to not only protect his father and two sisters but to prevent needless deaths and suffering. Too late he realized he was trapped in a losing battle in the fight to counteract the devastation wrought by the crimes committed by some people against others. Gritting his teeth as he snapped open the leather restraint that kept the gun safely in the holster, he wrapped his fingers around the massive grip on the high-powered, high-caliber weapon before carefully pulling it free. Thankfully the gloves enabled him to keep a solid grip on the weapon despite his sweaty palms. They had cornered a perpetrator: an armed robber who had just held up the clerk at the convenience store at the end of the street. The criminal had taken them on a winding path down the crowded, dirty streets over a good portion of the city before turning down into this dead end alley. Ichigo blinked back the sweat coursing down his forehead that threatened to run into his eyes. He involuntarily shuddered when the sweat trickled down his spine while his anxiety level rose remarkably. A shadow moved at the end of the alley, and he raised his gun. If anyone was going to die to tonight, it was not going to be him.

"Put your hands where we can see them!" Renji bellowed, leveling his gunsight on the criminal who stepped from the doorway where he had been hiding.

The man obediently raised his hands causing the weak light from the lamp at the end of the alley behind him to glint off the muzzle of the old-fashioned six shooter in his right hand. He held a crumpled brown paper bag filled with money and cigarettes in the other. His whole take probably totaled fifty dollars or less since cash was hardly used nowadays. The value of the cigarettes was most likely double that of the money he had stolen after holding his gun to the head of the terrified cashier.

"Drop it!" the redhead ordered, rushing forward when the metallic scrape of the gun hitting pavement echoed off the brick walls around them.

Ichigo released the breath he had been holding to suck much needed oxygen into his starved lungs. After reholstering his gun, he walked toward the man his partner was still holding at gunpoint while he pulled out the handcuffs from the holder strapped to his belt. He had just seized the criminal's wrist to clamp on the handcuffs when the thug reached behind his back with his other hand to retrieve a knife that had been tucked into his waistband. Kicking away the hand coming at him that held the knife, Ichigo quickly twisted the arm he held behind the guy's back to make him stand on his tiptoes to keep it from being disjointed.

"Dumbass scumbag! What the hell were you thinking?" an irate Renji yelled at the criminal who he finished handcuffing before his partner gave into the urge to break the arm he grasped tightly. Putting his hand on his partner's shoulder, he asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Ichigo irritably returned, shrugging off the hand of his concerned partner and friend. He had made a rookie mistake by not immediately checking the man for other weapons. It was mistakes like that which could get him killed.

~...~

"Good job, guys," Captain Muguruma complimented both Ichigo and Renji as they were getting ready to leave after their shift. "You got the bad guy but..." Allowing his words to trail off, he decided not to finish the sentence. The urge to lecture the distracted officer who had almost gotten himself stabbed was held in check by the sad brown eyes which reminded him that today was the anniversary of Ichigo's mother's murder. Instead, he grabbed his bag out of his locker, raking his hand through his short, military cut gray hair. All of his men would be going home tonight. It was always a good night when no one went to the hospital or the morgue - cop or criminal alike. Next year, he would force Ichigo to take the day off.

"Thanks, Captain," they replied in unison, bowing slightly. Both men waited for the man to leave before continuing their conversation that had abruptly halted when the Captain had entered. Plans were being discussed of where to go once they left the station. Since it was midnight, their choices were limited to clubs, all night diners, or home. Neither one was hungry or tired. A drink sounded good though.

"What about the Stardust?" Renji asked, pulling on his casual boots. He wanted to go there because they had prettiest hostesses in the whole city. He figured Ichigo might want to go because Riko worked there.

"Are you trying to tempt me?" Ichigo demanded with obvious annoyance, pulling a plain white t-shirt over his head.

"Is it working?" his friend questioned hopefully, shuffling his feet like an excited child.

"Maybe," the perpetually grumpy orange top replied, looking down to hide the hint of a smile on his lips.

"A drink and a pretty girl would be just what the doctor ordered after the night you have had," Renji said with a wink and a nudge to his buddy's ribs.

"Don't bring my father into this," the irritated carrot top muttered, slamming his locker door. His father, who really was a doctor, would suggest getting laid because his father was that kind of pervert. However, sex was only a temporary distraction that could bring with it a whole set of new problems like a stalker. Seriously considering the idea of going to the Stardust_, _his mind formed a picture of the lovely Riko who always took care of him there. "Yeah, let's go."

~...~

The Stardust was one of the premiere hostess clubs of the city, catering to a gamut of men ranging from high-profile city officials such as the mayor to 'regular joe' businessmen who needed a companion, a drink, and a bit of compassionate conversation for the night. Owned by Rangiku and Gin Ichimaru, they made it clear to their patrons and their employees that they were running an upscale business not a bordello. Fraternization of the sexual type was not allowed between the girls and their customers. Drinks, conversation, karaoke, and the occasional hug or chaste demonstration of affection like a peck on the cheek was allowed. No kissing on the lips, no taking off clothes, no touching private parts, and absolutely NO SEX was allowed. If either party, whether it be hostess or guest, broke the rules, they were immediately dealt with and dispatched from the building to never return again. The scary as hell bouncer, Kenny, made sure of that.

The club itself was a plain, rectangular, and unadorned red brick building that appeared to be an unassuming warehouse on the outside tucked right in the middle of the business district along the river front. Inside, it was dimly lit but inviting with the soft glow of candles on the tables and low light being emitted by the millions of tiny lights embedded in the ceiling and walls. These little lights appeared to be stars scattered across the backdrop of the walls painted the darkest blue bordering on black to mimic the night sky. The club was named for these prolific little lights because they appeared to be stars dusted across the sky. The tables were simple squares of dark, highly polished oak surrounded by U-shaped benches upholstered in the finest cotton fabric in a powdery blue color. This created individual little compartments giving relative privacy for parties of two people up to eight. Music played at a low-level to allow for intimate conversations while giving a lulling background noise to add to the soothing atmosphere. There was a separate room full of booths with a stage for karaoke. This was a place for lonely men to come for companionship, for stressed men to seek peace, and for discontented married men to redefine their thinking and go back home to their wives.

Ichigo walked into the establishment behind Renji who bee-lined for their usual spot; a space tucked in the back corner furthest away from the karaoke room and closest to the bar. Rolling his eyes, he followed his friend to drop down heavily onto the cushy seat of the booth.

"Good evening gentleman," Rangiku greeted them warmly.

Renji's eyes fixed themselves to the massive breasts of the club owner who always greeted them personally since they were regulars. Rangiku was a beautiful woman with honey blond hair that flowed down her back in waves, kind blue eyes the color of a clear summer sky, and the biggest most gorgeous chest he had ever seen. His brown eyes immediately darted over to the woman's husband who was always a fixture behind the bar. He shuddered when the man gave him that creepy, serene, and all-knowing grin while keeping his eyes hidden behind his virtually closed eyelids. That grin told him "You can look all you want buddy, but if you touch her, I'll cut your damn hand off." Raising his eyes, he looked at the woman's pretty face, keeping his eyes pinned to the beauty mark above her lip.

"Who will it be tonight, Renji?" she inquired playfully, beaming at him when his eyes met hers. She already knew who Ichigo would request so she did not even bother to ask. "Caroline? Mimi? Lola?"

"Haineko," he answered, smiling broadly. Haineko reminded him of Rangiku although he was not sure why. The woman looked nothing like her having short maroon colored hair, big teal colored eyes, and tanned skin. Maybe it was their poise and over all beauty...or the big breasts. Haineko moved like a graceful cat and almost looked like one.

"All right then," she replied, turning her attention to the affectless orange haired man sitting beside him. "I'll get Riko for you."

"What will be it tonight, guys?" Gin asked from behind the bar while his wife sashayed her way to the back where the girls were taking a break.

"Whiskey for me," Ichigo requested.

Rangiku was out of earshot before she could hear Renji's order. She opened the door to the break room where several of the girls sat resting or even dozing between customers. The room was filled with plush couches and ornate silver and glass-topped tables. The tables were covered with women's magazines and silver trays filled with sweets, fruit, and other indulgent snacks. A silver tea service and coffee machine sat on a table against one wall with china cups and saucers. She took care of her girls; she babied them, she pampered them, and she treated them like daughters.

"Riko, Riko, Riko!" Rangiku called sweetly, her voice rising with each time she said the name.

Riko put down the magazine she had been reading to give her boss a smile. There was only one reason and for only one customer that her boss called her that way. She hopped out of her chair, checking her make-up and hair one last time. Her shoulder length brown hair that was the color of strong coffee was swept up in a messy bun to leave her lightly tanned shoulders bare from the strapless dark purple dress she wore. She had worn this tonight hoping he would be here. Biting her lip with anticipation, she paused at the door to take a few deep breaths. She would have to force herself to slowly walk with elegance instead of charging out like a giddy school girl to find the cop with spiky orange hair who always asked for her. She wondered what kind of night he had experienced at work.

"Don't chew your lip," Rangiku chided, grasping Riko's shoulders to turn the nervous woman to face her. Pulling the ever present tube of sweet pink lipstick from her pocket, she touched up Riko's lips and wiped the lipstick from her teeth with a tissue. "Now, you're perfect for him. He ordered a bottle of whiskey. It's been a really bad day."

Riko smiled in acknowledgement. He had been coming here long enough that they knew how bad of a day he had by what drink he ordered. Beers signaled it was just another day. Vodka meant that it was a little more stressful than normal. Whiskey was the telltale sign that it had been the day from hell. If it was a tequila night...oh, shit was the only way to describe his shift. She hurried out into the dimly lit club, seeing the wild red pineapple ponytail of his buddy Renji all the way across the room. Due to their frequency of visits and the time she had spent with them, she would feel comfortable calling them both friends, especially Ichigo. They were always polite, never got touchy feely, and left a more than ample tip before leaving. Besides, she just plain liked Ichigo as a human being, a man. Sometimes she wondered if it was because he saw her as a human, a woman, despite her job. Some men did not realize being a hostess did not equate to being a whore. She was simply their companion for the evening for conversation and laughs, karaoke and drinking; no kissing, no fondling, and absolutely NO sex allowed. Rangiku, Gin, and the huge, terrifying bouncer named Kenny made sure that if the customers attempted any of these three no's they were promptly tossed out on their ass.

Riko sat down beside Ichigo, offering Renji and her fellow hostess, Haineko, a smile and nod of hello. She liked the pretty woman who was one of the few hostesses she would dare to call a friend. Upon seeing Ichigo's empty glass, she leaned forward to refill it before picking it up to hand it to him.

"One of those days?" she queried, watching him gulp down the whole glass in two big swallows.

"Yeah. I made a really dumb mistake," he answered succinctly. He did not offer further details, and he was glad she did not ask for more details. That was one of the things he liked about her. She allowed him to talk at his pace, listening to what information he wanted to share without whining or pressing him for more. She also did not laugh with an annoying fake laugh while babbling mindlessly about anything and everything.

"You're still a man you know," she said, pulling her legs underneath her while she propped her elbow on the back of the seat. "Just because you're a cop doesn't mean you become some programmed robot every time you put on that uniform. You still have thoughts...feelings...things from your personal life that affect you."

"But they're not supposed to. That's what we're trained for. When we're at work, we're supposed to act automatically, appropriately, without thinking or hesitating...or forgetting," he muttered, slamming his empty glass down on the table.

"But you're human," she argued, watching him slosh a bit of whiskey onto the table when his hand faltered while he was pouring his drink. She noticed the trembling of his hand before he reined himself in to calm down and bring the glass to his lips.

"I'm not supposed to be. Nobody thinks of cops as people...with emotions and thoughts who have problems of our own," he told her, turning to look at her. His eyes held hers which were a rich and inviting dark brown color in addition to being so kind and gentle when they looked at him. That was another thing he really liked about her: her eyes were just like his mother's eyes. The beginning of a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. It seemed there might be quite a few things he liked about her. She was a really good friend.

Riko chewed her lip when the strong emotion in his eyes made her stomach clinch. His warm chocolate-colored eyes darkened as she studied them, filling with that familiar and unnerving mixture of love and sadness. She both loved it and hated it when that happened. What, or who, was he thinking about when he looked at her like that? Raising her hand to his cheek, she willed her fingers not to shake as she touched his shockingly baby soft skin. He may be a rough, tough cop but his skin was not anything like the hard, steely facade he most often wore. Her eyes moved to his lips that were full and dark pink. If it would not get her fired and him thrown out, she would give in to the temptation to kiss him.

"What is it?" she asked instead to break the spell that had fallen over her and would get them both into trouble. "What are you thinking?"

"You remind me of my mother sometimes...your eyes," he clarified when confusion clouded those lovely eyes of hers.

"Oh?" She traced the strong square line of his jaw down to his chin. Using her forefinger, she tenderly outlined his lips. Since she could not kiss them, she still wanted to touch them in some way to comfort him. Or was it her own curiosity she wanted to sate about those inviting lips? Her eyes moved back to his. He appeared to be so hurt, indescribably mortally wounded, at this moment.

"My mother was killed on this very day twenty years ago. Some years it still hurts just as badly as when it first happened. This is one of those years," he remarked, draining the glass of its dark brown contents.

"Ichigo, slow down," she whispered, grabbing the bottle when he picked it up again. Her lips were mere inches from his as they both leaned forward and pulled on the bottle in a tug of war. "This won't help."

"What will, Riko? What will make the pain stop?" he asked, unshed tears glistening in the corners of his eyes like diamonds.

"I-I d-don't kn-know," she stammered, snatching the bottle from his hand. She scooted away from him, pulling his head down to her lap. By brushing her fingers through his silky orange spikes, she attempted to comfort him the best way she knew how. Her breath caught in her throat when his strong arm wrapped around her legs that were under his head.

"Have you ever thought about leaving here? Getting a job somewhere else?" he inquired, grabbing her hand that was stroking his head.

"Of course I have," she admitted, forcing herself to keep breathing when she felt his smooth lips against her palm. Pulling her hand from his, she lay it flat on his chest to keep him from doing anything else that would take her breath away. He was not usually this forward, but he had more than his fair share to drink tonight. Staring at the half empty liquor bottle that had arrived full, she patted his chest. "There's nothing else I can do to make this much money. I'm saving up to move out of the city. I want to get away from all of this...mess. I want a small country home where I can grow vegetables and flowers and sell them at the local market."

"Do you want to get married?" he asked, looking up at her from her lap.

"Maybe...I don't know...I haven't really thought about it," she answered shyly, chewing her lip again because his staring was making her nervous.

"I'd marry you," he offered, his eyes blinking very slowly due to his very drunken state.

"Hmph," she snorted, pushing him to a sitting position. She knew he was completely plastered to say something like that. "The silly things you say when you're drunk. It's just not fair, Ichigo."

"You are a good friend, Riko. I'm not too drunk to say that," he confessed, pouring himself yet another drink.

"You can have one more after this then I'm calling you a cab," she informed him in a no-nonsense manner.

"You are a very good friend, Riko," he repeated, patting her on the head like an obedient puppy who had successfully performed a trick.

"Yeah, I know," she rejoined with a sigh and roll of her eyes. _Friend._ She sighed again with despair, glad he was drunk so he did not pick up on the sadness of her exhalations. He might as well have told her,"You have a snowball's chance in hell of ever being more, babe."

* * *

My beta, xfang-girlx, had already gone through this once before I made additions. Hopefully I did not add any mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo awoke with a pounding headache which instantly made regret blossom inside of him. He should have just come home last night instead of going out drinking. Groaning in misery, he rolled over while patting the nightstand blindly to find his phone. He finally managed to force open one eye to look at the screen. Once his eyes adjusted to the blinding sunlight of the height of the afternoon, he emitted a grunt of aggravation at the picture he saw that had been sent from Renji. It was an endearing yet embarrassing scene of his head intimately nestled in the lap of the beautiful and kind Riko while he reached up to touch her face. His thumb hovered over the on-screen delete button for several seconds before moving over to the save button. Riko was a good friend. Besides, it was not like he had been caught in _the act _with her or something. Putting the phone back down, he pushed himself to a sitting position taking a moment to gently cradle his aching head in his hands. He had to shake this off. He was due at his father's house for dinner in a few hours. Maybe a shower and a shot of whiskey would be what he needs to make the hangover disappear.

Meanwhile, across town in her rundown apartment, Riko was having her own rude awakening. The irritating chirping of her phone finally roused her out of her sleep. She had been dreaming about being lost in a tropical rainforest; listening to the wonderful sounds of water dripping, monkeys vocalizing, and birds making various and unusual calls when one annoying chirp kept rising above the rest.

"Fucking phone," she grumbled, indulging in a rare case of using the f-word. She used it sparingly, reserving it for the times when she was most perturbed.

Last night after pouring Ichigo in a cab to send him home, the night had not gone well for her. Her next customer had been a little too 'hands on' for her taste and was immediately dispatched to the street outside by Kenny. After that incident, she had refused to take anymore customers as a hostess, choosing instead to act as a server. The tips would not be as good being a waitress but at least it would keep her from getting groped...or so she thought. Several more men were thrown out but not before her butt and breasts were sore from the vicious manhandling they had received from the numerous perverts. She arrived home well after eight in the morning because she had helped close down the bar and assist with cleaning. Despite being exhausted, it had taken her quite a while to wind down so she could go to sleep. The last time she had looked at the clock before falling asleep it was nearly noon. It was four in the afternoon.

"Oh, no...not her. What now?" she grumbled upon seeing the phone number she did not recognize. There was only one person it could be: her sister.

Mai never called unless she needed something; usually more money to go spend on drugs to fuel her already out of control habit. Riko knew her sister had resorted to prostitution in the past for drug money. Sometimes she could barely contain the urge to tell her to just go stand a street corner to get the money for her next fix when Mai called to _borrow_ money she had no intention of repaying.

"Riko, Riko!" her sister yelled into the phone unnecessarily.

"What?" she growled in return. Her sister was flying high at the moment; she could hear it in her shaky, histrionic voice.

"I-I need y-your help," the woman who was busy freaking out stammered into the phone.

"I'm not giving you money, Mai," she said immediately.

"I'm in trouble, Riko!" she exclaimed, panic making her voice shrill.

_Aren't you always?,_ Riko thought to herself without voicing the words. Flopping back on the bed, she waited for her sister to continue.

"I'm pregnant!" the overwrought woman virtually screamed into the phone.

"Oh, god no," she gasped, coming to full wakefulness while springing up to a sitting position in the bed. Her heart instantly broke for that new life growing inside of her sister's abused and dope saturated body. What chance at life could that child possibly have? However miniscule that chance might be, the baby deserved it. "Go to a free clinic. They can tell you the location of a shelter that helps women like you. They can help you get off the drugs and have the baby. Then leave it. Never look back. Don't you dare try to raise that child. Give it life then give it up so it can have one."

"You bitch!" Mai screamed with fury. "Thanks for nothing!"

"Mai? Mai!" Riko shouted into the phone but it was no use. Her sister was gone. She should have handled that differently, but she had not. Covering her face with her hands, she cried for the innocent life that was about to be destroyed. She could only hope and wonder if her sister would take her advice.

~...~

The pleasant atmosphere of the family gathering and very tasty dinner prepared by Yuzu at the Kurosaki house was about to be rudely interrupted. An incessant pounding on the door of their father's clinic next door disturbed their jovial conversation about how the girls were doing in college. Ichigo and Karin's face fell into deep scowls while Isshin and Yuzu pushed away from the table to go answer the nonstop beckoning.

"Just ignore it. Let's eat," Ichigo grumbled, standing to grab his father's arm.

"Son, you know that years ago I made a commitment to this community to serve their medical needs any time of the day or night," his gentle giant of a father reminded him. The man looked like a bear with his massive muscled body that stood just over six feet tall. The thick black hair on his head and prolific body hair including a constant five o' clock shadow only furthered his bear like appearance. But he was kind and patient especially with those who needed his help. That long suffering extended to his daughters but stopped short of his temperamental son. His relationship with Ichigo had always been different. He had gone out of his way sometimes to be weird and somewhat perverted in an effort to bring lightheartedness to the serious and most often sad existence of Ichigo. His stoic son would have none of it; often losing patience with him while finding him excessively bothersome and downright humiliating. That never stopped him from trying to make his son lighten up, even resorting to punching Ichigo in the face when his patience as a father had been tested to an end because the boy was simply too sulky and self-centered.

"It's probably just some strung out hooker who is tweaking because she can't get a fix. Don't go Dad," Karin pleaded with him, looking to her sister for help. She doubted she would find an ally in her twin since Yuzu was studying to be an RN because she had always acted as their father's nurse and wanted to help these people just as much. "Yuzu?"

"Sorry, Karin. I have to help Dad," she said, receiving a sigh of exasperation from both of her siblings.

"I'm going too just in case there's any trouble," Ichigo insisted, getting up from his chair.

"There won't be. Just stay here and relax. You're not on duty tonight," his father reminded him trying to get him to sit back down.

"I'm always on duty, Dad. Besides, why do you think I wanted to be a cop in the first place? I'll never let anything happen to you," he said, grunting when the pitiful whining entreaties for help mingled with the irritating knocking. Following his father, his hand automatically went to his side to rest where his gun holster would be positioned if he were wearing his duty belt for work. He issued a sound of annoyance after catching nothing but air because he was not armed at the moment.

By the time they reached her, the woman was sitting on the ground at the glass front doors of the clinic with her head on her knees while she cried her heart out. Isshin knelt down in front of her, putting his large hand on her shaking shoulder.

"Miss, can we help you?" he asked, waiting for her to raise her head full of stringy, oily dark brown hair. He was accustomed to seeing women like this as was his son in his line of work. It was impossible to ignore Ichigo's sharp inhale of surprise after the woman turned her face up.

"Oh, my god," Ichigo gasped, taken aback because at first he thought the woman was Riko. Her face looked the same except for being dirty with prominent angular cheekbones that appeared they might break through her thin skin. Her brown eyes had a hollow and dead appearance. She bore the patent look of drug addicted street trash who used her body to support her habit. Swallowing convulsively, he was still stunned and quite unnerved by her resemblance to Riko. He feared this very outcome for his dear friend in her career as a hostess. Although she was not selling her body, she was selling her time, her emotions, to invest them in men who did not care. Maybe that was worse than selling her body for sex because each time it took away part of her that was inherently her, her personality, but she did not even know it. How long would it be before that emotional prostitution took its toll? Would the pain, the emptiness, drive her to drugs? It would only take one time, one needle or one pill, to turn her into something like this.

"I-I-I-I," the half-starved woman stuttered helplessly, releasing a loud, heartbreaking sob. "I'm pregnant!"

Yuzu could not take it any longer. Despite the woman's detestable appearance and even worse smell, her heart was breaking for the pitiful creature who needed their help. She knelt beside her, hugging her and rocking her slowly while she cried.

"There, there now," she whispered to comfort the inconsolable woman. She attempted to stroke her hair but her fingers could not get through the matted tangles. "Come inside. You can take a shower and change your clothes. I'll bring you something to eat, then we can figure out how to help you."

"Thank you," she sobbed, holding onto the small woman embracing her as if her life depended on it. Maybe it did.

Ichigo watched the truly pathetic scene, unable to keep the sneer of disgust from his face. Folding his arms over his chest, he contemplated who the hell this woman could be that she looked so much like Riko. A shiver ran down his spine when she lifted her head from Yuzu's chest enabling him to see her face clearly again. The similarity was freakish and gave him the willies.

"I'll go fix her a plate of food," he offered, wanting to get out of there so he did not have to look at her any longer. "I'll send Karin out with it."

Stalking back to the house, he cursed under his breath. "Dammit, Dad. I hate it when you do this. Don't you have any idea how dangerous this really is? I know these people need to be helped but I've already lost one parent. I can't stand to lose another," he grumbled to himself, knowing better than to voice his opinion to his father. It would not do any good anyway. Each of them felt guilty for his mother's death for one reason or another and was paying their own penitence of choice to assuage that guilt. He felt guilty because he had been too young and too helpless to stop it. His sisters...they felt guilty for not being able to help their brother through his torment. His father endured deep, unabated remorse because he had refused to help the man who had come into the clinic begging for his assistance.

_The wild-eyed man rushed into the Kurosaki Clinic, panicked and incoherent. He reached across the counter, grabbing the terrified front desk receptionist by the lapels of her white clinical jacket._

_"Where is the doctor? I need the doctor!" he bellowed in the frightened woman's face. With his eyes, he followed the direction of her finger that pointed down the hall. About that time, Isshin was stepping out of a room from examining a patient so the man dropped the receptionist to run to him. Seizing the doctor by the lapels, he was able to shake the man nearly a foot taller than him due to his frenzied, adrenaline fueled rage. "I need your help. I've been shot!"_

_"Sir, you need to go to the General Hospital. I can't help you here. This is not a free clinic. I don't treat everyone off the street," Isshin replied, attempting to peel the man's hands off of his coat. _

_"I can't! I was shot during a drug deal! The police will investigate. I'm not proud of what I've done, but I had to do it for money or my family would starve," he cried, dissolving into tears._

_"Sir! This is a privately owned clinic and I only treat patients who haven't committed crimes. Now, please, leave!" the infuriated doctor yelled, grasping the man's collar to pick him up as if he were trash before throwing him out of the door._

_Weeks later that man's wife returned to the clinic with hate in her heart, revenge on her mind, and a gun in her hand. When no answer came to her knocks at the clinic, she went to the front door of the family home. Waiting patiently after wrapping her knuckles on the wood, she raised the gun planning to shoot whoever answered. When Misaki opened the door, she did not hesitate to pull the trigger to end the life of the beloved wife and mother. She had come seeking revenge because her husband died from the gunshot wound to his belly. Before he was dead, he had told her about his humiliation and refusal for help at the Kurosaki Clinic. As the murderous, vengeful wife was being put into the police cruiser to be hauled away, she screamed, "You let my husband die so I took your wife! Now you know how it feels to lose someone who means everything to you!"_

Ichigo shook his head to dispel the horrific memory. His throat was as dry as if he had been wandering in the desert for hours. Getting a glass down from the cabinet, his hand shook as he tried to fill it with water. Forcing his body to come under his control, he raised the glass to his parched lips and drained it's contents in just a few audible gulps. He understood his father's need to help these people, but he still did not like it.

~...~

Straight shots of tequila. Shit. Riko snatched the shot glass out of Ichigo's hand. Whatever hell on earth had come his way that day, she had experienced her own as well. She had drunk a gallon of water in preparation for tonight; she planned to drink and drink A LOT. The fact she would be doing it with him made it so much better. Relief had flooded her system like a healing balm when he had walked in looking as shell-shocked as she felt. She had run to him, taking his hand in hers to lead him to one of the private rooms. Tonight they would need privacy to deal with their troubles. Whether they would talk about what was weighing so heavily on their minds was questionable. Even if they never said a word, the silence shared with a friend would be welcome and comforting.

Ichigo did not complain when she stole his shot that he had poured. She looked plenty upset and in need of consolation herself. Besides, they had a whole bottle between them that he had already paid for. He grabbed another shot glass and filled it, refilling hers before he poured the stinging alcohol down his throat. Warmth flooded his body from the strong liquor, and he sank back into the couch reveling in the sensation. When her head lay against his chest over his heart, his arm went around her to stroke her bare arm. His fingertips felt hypersensitive as they grazed the silky flesh of her upper arm.

"How long are you going to stay in this awful place?" he asked her, kissing the top of her head without thinking about it.

"Not much longer. I'm already twenty-four. Hostesses usually top out at twenty-six before they're viewed as old and worn out. I won't be young and beautiful for much longer. I don't know what - " She was unexpectedly interrupted when he grabbed her and pulled her to a sitting position in front of him.

"Don't say things like that," he growled, shaking her slightly. "You will be young and beautiful for a long time. You just...you just need to get the hell out of here before you're all used up."

"Ichigo," she murmured gently, reaching out to touch his face. He looked so angry and hurt all at the same time. He confused her to no end because when he finally did express an emotion it was always more than one at a time. "What happened?"

"I saw a woman earlier tonight. She looked like you but -" He stopped talking when her face crumbled, and she turned her head away from him. God! How could he be so stupid? Slapping his forehead as if to push the knowledge into his dense brain, he suddenly made the revelation that there was an obvious reason that woman looked like her. "She was your sister, wasn't she?"

"Yes," she admitted, easily wriggling out of the grip of the single hand that held her arm. She stood up, turning her back to him to hide her shame reddened face. She was relieved that her sister had sought help but mortified that Ichigo somehow knew about it. "I wasn't a very good sister to her today. She called me for help and all I did was tell her to go to a clinic...that they would know what to do. I wouldn't...I couldn't do anything else."

"She showed up at my Father's clinic," he explained, staring at her stiff back. "She's a drug addict isn't she? I'm sure you've done more than your fair share to help her. Enrolling her in drug rehabilitation programs only for her to go out and use again, giving her money for it to only be spent on drugs, allowing her to stay with you only for her to steal from you...for more drugs," he said, meeting her gaze when she turned to look at him. "They're all the same, Riko. There's nothing you can do to help a drug addict until they decide to help themselves."

Riko fought back the tears that wanted to fall, and it was a losing battle. Of course he would understand what she had been through. She angrily swiped at the tears that rolled down her cheeks ruining her painstakingly applied make up. Her body began to shake so she sat back down beside him. She did not reject the strong, comforting arms that encircled her body and held her while she cried.

"But now, there's the baby. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this. I - " she jerked herself out of his arms and knelt on the floor in front of him, kowtowing as if she were a servant. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm here to serve you. What would you have me do?"

"Stop it," he warned her as she continued to babble some weird subservient crap he had heard from some of the other hostesses. Seizing her by the arms, he stood while pulling her to her feet. "STOP IT!" Her expression of startled fear made him come back to his senses. "Riko, don't do this. You're my friend. I don't view you as one of these..." he hesitated, grasping for the right words so he would not hurt her feelings any further. "You're not like the others."

"What about you, Mr. Police Officer, huh?" she challenged, raising her chin defiantly while she bumped him with her chest. If they weren't both so emotionally distraught, they would have found that either exciting or comical but due to present circumstances, her pretentious show of dominance went unnoticed. "Why did you become a cop? I bet you have a hero complex. This excessive need to save the world...to lock away the bad guys...to save the damsels in distress. The ones you deem pure of heart anyway," she added with open sarcasm. "What would you know about being pure of heart hero? Whose perceived evil deeds are you atoning for? Yours or someone else's?"

"That's enough," he snarled through his teeth. He had never slapped a woman but he was ready to make an exception in her case. This startled him enough that he began to chuckle from the absurdity of their argument. As inappropriate and nonsensical as it was in this given moment, he laughed.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're not that drunk," Riko snapped, shaking herself out of his grip that had loosened during his laughing fit.

"No, I'm not," he chortled, his face turning pink from embarrassment. He was not sure which embarrassed him more: the noise he just made or the impropriety of his chuckling.

"You're weird," she muttered, turning her back so he could not see the grin of amusement on her face. He was being incredibly strange at the moment but she could not help but find him captivating - and attractive. He was so handsome with a smile on his usually stony, emotionless face.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me," he giggled, attempting to restrain any further laughter because it was ridiculously mirthless and uncontrollable. He plopped back down on the couch, pouring himself another shot.

"Maybe it's just the incredibly odd situation we have found ourselves in," she murmured, turning to face him. She sat back down beside him, pressing her body against his long lean frame. Staring at the wall, she asked, "Do ever look at your life and wonder how did I get here? How did I come to this?"

Ichigo sighed with relief that the wildly out of place need to giggle had fled because of the simple yet philosophical question she had posed to him. Patting her head as if she were an endearing child who had just inquired _what makes the sky blue?_, he kissed her forehead like a loving older brother before confessing, "Every damn day, Riko. I ask myself those questions every damn day."

Riko pressed her cheek to his chest, seeking comfort from the sound of the cadenced beating of his heart. She was glad he asked himself those questions. She would have felt like a total idiot if he had asked her 'What the hell are babbling about?' Holding on to the lapels of his black dress shirt, she hoped he did not notice that she was clinging to him like a desperate fool holds onto a life raft in the middle of the ocean. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she wanted him to be her hero. Snorting to stifle the preposterous desire laugh, she pushed away the perverse thought realizing she would just have to save herself.

* * *

Once again, my beta xfang-girlx looked over this before I made additions. Sorry for any mistakes. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo sipped his iced tea trying desperately to ignore the conversation between his father and sisters. If he had known they had invited him to lunch only to once again hassle him about his love life, or rather lack thereof, he would have lied and said he had plans. After he had stonewalled their many questions and criticisms such as 'when are you going to get married?' and 'you're going to wind up old, alone, and bitter,' they had summarily excluded him from the conversation despite the fact it was about him. When they resorted to concocting ways of finding a suitable wife for him, he tuned them out completely. Poking at his steak with disinterest, he raised his head to look over Yuzu's head covered with waves of golden brown hair, the same color as their mother's. His gazed hovered briefly on each face of the many passers by of the outdoor cafe where they were having lunch. It was Karin's favorite place.

Each person's face told a story simply by the expression they wore. The weary, worn face with dark circles under the eyes of the new mother carrying the infant in a sling across her chest. The tightly pressed together lips and furrowed brow of the stressed business man who was probably getting bawled out on the phone he held tightly against his ear. The cocky, self-centered smirk of the womanizer who had a woman under his arm that was most likely some other man's wife. The worried face of - Riko?

Ichigo sat up at attention a little too abruptly, accidentally kicking one of the table legs. While he rubbed his sore ankle, his siblings and father grabbed at the recently refilled glasses that his sudden action threatened to tip over.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Son? It's just a conversation," his father commented irritably, sighing with relief that nothing had been spilled. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder about you. It's not right that a man your age does not have a woman in his life. You have certain...needs. Are you gay? If you're gay, just tell me. You can be honest with me, Ichigo. I'll be disappointed, I can't lie about that. I would love to have grandchildren. And a sweet and pretty daughter-in-law to hug. But I'll love you anyway so..."

"Dad, shut up, please," Ichigo hissed to end his father's ridiculous babbling.

He wasn't gay for God's sake. He just did not like the messy entanglements that came from relationships. Besides, being left at the altar is kind of off putting to even want to take a woman on a date much less forge a relationship. His eyes had been on Riko the whole time as she neared the vicinity of the cafe. Where could she be going? He had never seen her out of the hostess club and she looked...different. Gone was the thick make up, carefully styled hair, and sexy clothes. His eyes moved from her cocoa colored hair that was pulled up in a plain ponytail to her face that was clean and make-up free except for light pink lipstick on her lips. She was wearing a plain red t-shirt and jeans. Definitely not a fashion maven away from work in her simplicity of style but he liked it. She was carrying a large bouquet of white jasmine flowers. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips because she looked so beautiful to him - more so now than when she was at the club.

"Ichigo?" Yuzu called, perplexed by the smile on her brother's face. "What's wrong?"

"Now that's the most frightening thing I've seen in a while," Karin murmured, turning to see what her brother could possibly be staring at so intently. Surely whatever he was looking at had put that creepy smile on his face.

"I'll be right back," he mumbled, getting up from the table. Easily hopping over the waist high barrier of flower boxes around the cafe, he landed right in front of Riko.

"Oh!" Riko gasped, toppling backwards from the sudden appearance of the man in front of her. She felt herself falling and could only prepare mentally for the painful meeting of her behind and the concrete sidewalk as gravity did its work. A strong hand grasped her forearm, easily and completely encircling her arm to pull her back to a standing position. "Thank -" She was unable to speak as she stared up into a familiar, soulful pair of dark brown eyes. "You," she breathed, smiling at Ichigo. He really was her hero. Although if it had not been for him, she would not have been falling in the first place. Heat filled her cheeks, and she was sure the color of her face matched her shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having lunch with my family," he answered, jerking his head toward the cafe.

Riko turned her head to see a big, dark haired man and two pretty girls about her age sitting at table gaping at them in open mouthed awe. She offered them a friendly smile along with a wave because they had to be his family. Why were they so shocked he was talking to someone? Turning her attention back to Ichigo, she tightened her already firm grip on the bouquet.

"Where are you off to?" he asked, looking down at the flowers whose powerful, heady scent filled the air around them.

"To see my sister," she answered, lowering her eyes to the ground. She nervously twisted the lock of hair that had freed itself from her ponytail around her finger.

Ichigo remembered the night two weeks ago when her sister had showed up in front of his father's clinic. The good doctor had provided the woman with food and shelter that night in addition to a shower and clean clothes. The next day he had given her an exam and an ultrasound. There had been no need for a pregnancy test because she had been obviously pregnant. During the ultrasound it was confirmed that she was seven months along. Unfortunately, Mai had not received any prenatal care but the baby seemed to be healthy and developing normally despite that fact. After the complete check up by his father, he had driven her to the shelter for pregnant homeless women himself; truth be told, mostly to make sure she actually went there to get help for the baby's sake.

"Well, I must be going," Riko murmured, nodding to him before she sidestepped him to proceed to the shelter that was only two blocks away.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, grabbing her upper arm. He immediately pulled back his hand when her wide, startled eyes met his. "Are you going to be at work tonight?"

"No," she replied, her face growing hot again from a blush. Is that all he thought about her? That she was just a hostess and no better than a common street whore? Was he embarrassed to be speaking with her in public? "I do get days, well nights, off."

"Oh, okay," he mumbled, feeling humiliated. Why couldn't he have thought of something better to say? He really needed something good to say at the moment as the awkward silence stretched between them.

"Ask her out you idiot," Karin said under her breath.

"Ask her out, dumbass!" Ishhin yelled shamelessly, receiving glares from the offended women around him while men, teenagers, and small children giggled throughout the crowded cafe.

"DAD!" his twin daughters cried in unison.

"Well, you should be going. I apologize for keeping you," Ichigo said, turning away from her to glower at his outspoken father. He wished it were possible to die from embarrassment to save him any further humiliation should his father have another outburst.

Riko sighed loudly, feeling the unadulterated sting of rejection. She was irritated that he had even spoken to her if all he was going to do was demoralize her like that. That was the most painful thing she had endured in a while. Mentally shaking off the public spurning, she made up her mind to think of him only as a customer should he ever return to the hostess club. Their friendship had never extended beyond the four walls of the _Stardust _anyway, and she was a fool to ever think it would. Hell, he had not even asked for her cell phone number so how could she be so stupid as to call him a friend?

"Hey! Hey, Riko!" Somehow the familiar voice of the orange topped cop carried to her over the city noise.

"God, what now? Back to humiliate me some more?" she asked herself out loud before she turned to see what he wanted. She stepped back apprehensively when she came nose to chest with him.

"Can I get your phone number?" he asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. His father had threatened to kill him if he did not get her phone number. Just because he had it didn't mean he had to call her, and it would save him from having to spar with his father who was still strong as a damn ox.

"Give me that," she snapped, snatching the phone from his hands. Now she was doubly angry: angry with him for being such an emotional retard and angry with herself for feeling like a giddy teenaged girl because he asked for her phone number. Touching the screen and waiting for the number pad to appear, she quickly typed in her number and hit the green phone key at the bottom. The familiar strains of her bird sound ringtone filled the air. After pressing the red phone key to end the call, she handed it back to him. "There. I have your number too. Talk to you later...maybe."

Ichigo stared at the phone in his hand momentarily before raising his eyes to stare at the woman walking away from him. He studied the bouncing ponytail before allowing his eyes to glide down her back to follow the wide, sensuous swing of her hips. He had never noticed what a really nice behind she had until he saw it displayed so well in the tight jeans she wore. Finding himself grinning like an idiot, he instantly pulled his lips down into a fierce scowl.

"Dammit, Dad, I hope you're happy," he ground out through his teeth. She had told him she had the night off. He might have to call her later because he was not working tonight either.

~...~

Riko was sitting in the tub relaxing while replaying the visit with Mai in her head. She smiled and sighed contentedly. The visit had gone well and Mai looked so happy. The drugs had worked their way through her sister's body, and Mai seemed to be genuinely happy that she was pregnant when she proudly showed Riko the pictures that had been given to her from the ultrasound. When she was not all strung out, Mai was a wonderful person. She became the sister that Riko had always known and loved; the little sister who had always looked up to her and wanted to be like her. But Mai had gotten involved with the wrong people and the wrong things - to be caught in a trap she could not seem to free herself from. It seemed like people would spot that particular trap by now since so many people before them had fallen into it. Sighing again, sadly this time, she thought about her own situation and lifestyle. What did she have to be proud of? Looking up to the naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling, she thought about the tiny tiles that had fallen off the walls and disappeared long ago, and the cracks in some of the ceramic tiles on the floor. Then there was the rest of her rundown apartment. She did not even want to think about what it looked like. However, it was all she could afford in this part of town so she did her best to fix it up and make it livable. Then there was her job which could certainly not be deemed a self-esteem builder. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth to withstand the wave of humiliation that washed over her all over again when she recalled Ichigo's reaction to seeing her out on the street. That had been a blow to her self-esteem. _However_, she reminded herself, _he talked to me first_. _He could have just let me walk on by, and I would have never known that he was there. Why would he -_

Chirp, chirp, chiiiirrrruuupppp...damn phone.

"Annoying ass fu- OH!" she gasped when she picked up the phone to see Ichigo's name and number displayed on her caller ID. Chewing her lower lip nervously, she paused to debate whether she wanted to answer the call. Curiosity won out over the degradation that still lingered. "Hello?"

"Riko?" Ichigo's voice came through the phone, deep and smooth.

_God! His voice is even sexier on the phone,_ she thought to herself, almost sinking beneath the water when she virtually melted from his silky voice when he called her name again. Flailing about while her hand slid across the slick rounded side of the old fashioned claw foot tub, she pushed herself up after successfully sloshing a few gallons of water over the side. This tub was the one thing she really liked about this apartment. Oh, and then there was the astonishing view which was why she picked this apartment to begin with. She lived in the garden district and it was called that for a reason. Everyone had gardens, no matter how big or small the may be, and they were all gorgeous. She had wooden boxes attached to her windowsills in her bedroom and kitchen overflowing with gorgeous green ivy and eye popping fuchsia colored petunias and dark purple violets. One of the tenants in her building had made a roof top garden full of not only flowers but vegetables which he happily shared with all of the tenants. In the wintertime, he resorted to dragging his precious annuals into the glass greenhouse he had built himself while allowing the perennials to die off like they should to be replaced by new plants next growing season.

"Riko? Are you listening to me?" Ichigo queried with obvious indignance, receiving her full attention finally. "Are you busy?"

"I'm in the tub," she admitted, wondering how many shades of red his face was turning. She could not help but smile. Soon after meeting him she had learned to stay away from any sexual references; whether they be blatant comments or flirtatious innuendos, he was mortified by them all. She had thought it was cute that a grown man could be so modest about such a natural matter as sex.

"Oh, I'll call back in a little while," he gushed apprehensively.

"No, it's okay. I'll put on you speakerphone. Will that bother you?" she inquired, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle her laugh when she heard his annoyed grunt. She set her phone back down on the stool beside the tub where an empty beer bottle sat.

"Of course not," he snorted, apparently a bit rankled.

"So what's up?" she asked, hauling herself out of the tub. She groaned when she felt the pool of water beneath her feet on the floor. Grabbing one towel for her body and one for the floor, she tried to dry both as she waited for him to speak. Thinking that they had lost connection, she called out, "Ichigo? Are you there?"

"Would you like to go out tonight? Dinner and a movie?" he asked, his words rushed and pushed like a young man asking a girl out for the first time.

"No," she answered bluntly, hearing his loud intake of air through the phone. She did not feel like going out. Tonight she had planned a night at home: eating pizza and drinking beer while watching a comedy then finishing off the night watching a tragic romance while crying into her pint of rocky road ice cream. This was how she preferred to spend her nights off since she spent her working hours 'partying' in a manner of speaking.

"Well...um, I guess I'll...I guess I'll talk to you later," he mumbled in a barely audible voice.

"Hold up," Riko said, hearing the obvious discomfort in his voice. She had not meant to sound so harsh and embarrass him when he had just asked her out. Her mind had been too intent to carry out her boring plans to be alone to seriously consider his question or be happy that he had asked her out. But then again, was she supposed to be thankful he had expressed interest in her? Whatever...they could at least keep their friendship going outside of her work. Who knows? They might not even like each other as friends outside of a controlled and limited environment. "Why don't you come over to my place? I've got pizza and beer. I've got movies too but if there's something you'd like to see, bring it on over."

"When?" he inquired, his voice perkier...if perky was a word that could really describe _anything_ about Ichigo.

"Now," she replied, pulling out another towel to dry her hair. Once her hair was dry, the floor could have that one too to sop up some more of the water she had sloshed everywhere in her near drowning event. Staring at herself in the mirror, she was beginning to realize Ichigo might be more trouble than he was worth. It seemed like every time he was around, she suddenly became in danger of getting physically wounded. Pressing her hand to her heart, she mused it that would extend to emotional damage as well if she let him into her life.

"Okay. Give me your address," he said.

Riko paused when she heard him scrounging around for paper and pen. She rattled off her address to him while she dressed in a pair of shorts and an over-sized sweatshirt. Since the shirt was thick she did not bother to put a bra on, not that he would notice anyway. Grabbing her phone, she exited the bathroom.

"That's not far. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You live in a nice neighborhood," he complimented.

"Yeah, well, don't expect much when you get to my apartment. I think they were built in the fifties and I believe it's still the original decor," she admitted, walking into her tiny kitchen where a lipstick red refrigerator hummed. The refrigerator matched the shiny red Formica countertops. At least some things were built to last.

"See you soon," he told her, ending the call without giving her a chance to say good bye.

"Jerk," she muttered, opening the door of the miniscule freezer to pull out the pizza to put it in the oven which also happened to be red. She was glad she liked the color red.

Picking up her phone, she looked at the time he had ended the call: 7:22. If she were a gambling woman and there was anyone around with which to make a bet, she would lay money down that he would arrive at her door promptly at 7:37. Instead of waiting around like some lovesick moron, she set about getting things ready even going as far to fill a silver galvanized bucket with ice to sink the glass bottles of beer into. There were only five left since she had already drank one. Three apiece would have to do. She checked the time on her phone. 7:36. Scrolling through her numbers to get to his, she wondered if she would have enough time to ask him to stop by a convenience store to get more. Her clock moved to the next minute and a knock sounded on her door. She almost laughed. He was an amazing piece of work. Opening the door, there he stood with another six pack of long necks that happened to be her favorite brand. In the other hand, he held a stack of movies.

"Is this going to be a long visit?" she questioned him with a flirty smile, taking the beer from him.

"I just thought I'd bring several movies so there would something to choose from," he said, watching her walk to the sparsely furnished living room. A couch upholstered in dark brown leather dominated the living room along with the forty seven inch television. The only other piece of furniture was a big sturdy coffee table made of light colored maple wood sitting in front of the couch with a bucket full of beer in the middle. She was a woman after his own heart. He had expected frilly pink stuff everywhere along with hundreds of knick knacks, unicorns and such, as well as lots of white antique furniture. He was not sure why had expected the super-girly motif but he was glad he was wrong. He noticed she had not bothered with make up and her hair was still wet; so wet that water dripped off the ends that trailed down her back to curl just above her behind. There was a dark line of water that had soaked into the back of her red shorts over the top of her firm round...damn, those were some short shorts. His eyes traveled down her short, very well shaped legs.

"Just sit down, I'll be right there. Go ahead and put a movie in. Just make it funny," she requested shouting from the kitchen where she was cutting the pizza. Keeping her oven mitt on and bringing along a thick hand knitted trivet, a present from her sweet grandmother, she sat the whole pizza pan down on the table beside the bucket of beer.

"Forgetting something?" Ichigo queried, referring to plates.

"Oh, yeah," she gasped, snapping her fingers. She returned with a roll of paper towels. When Ichigo gazed at her in confusion, she ignored it to plop down next to him on the comfortable couch. It had been her plan to eat it this way. Although plans had changed, she still saw no need for plates.

"You're not what I expected at all," he laughed lightly, leaning forward to grab a slice of the pizza with everything on it but the kitchen sink.

"What did you expect?" Her words were muffled due to her mouth being full of pizza.

"I don't know," he lied, not wanting to admit his ridiculous assumptions.

"Next time you'll have to invite me over to your place so I can see how wrong I am about any preconceived notions I have about you," she joked, seeing a ghost of smile on his lips. Taking another large bite of the pizza, she mumbled, "You should smile more. I like it."

"Stop talking with your mouth full," he admonished her like a mother does a child. "Just shut up and watch the movie."

Ichigo was pleased, and surprised, that she was a woman who could actually keep her mouth shut and watch the movie. Not once did she comment on the hairstyles, clothing choices, cars, or interior design of the buildings in the movie. She laughed when necessary and offered the occasional expletive if one of the actors did or said something she really did not like. She had great taste in beer and food and movies. He liked her. He liked her more than he thought he would. There was a whole different side to her, or maybe it was the real her he was finally seeing, away from the club. He stayed to finish off the beers and watch two more movies with her.

By the time the last movie ended, the first golden rays of dawn were peeking through her small kitchen window over the sink. Since they both worked the night shift, they were accustomed to staying up all night and had not been paying attention to the time. It was late for them but early for the rest of the world.

"I really should be going," Ichigo yawned, stretching his long limbs.

Riko could tell he was tired and she was sure he was still quite a bit tipsy. "Hey, why don't you stay here?" she suggested, expecting a look of horror from him due to her suggestion. She quickly added, "It wouldn't look good for a cop to get stopped and arrested for driving under the influence. I'm pretty sure that 's something you could lose your job over. Besides, the couch here is pretty comfortable."

"Okay. You talked me into it," he responded with another yawn and stretch.

"I'll be right back." Riko went to her room to retrieve a blanket and a pillow she kept in the closet. It was usually kept there for her sister who would sometimes make her way to the apartment to crash. She was glad Ichigo's father had helped Mai, and she was in a good place for her - and the baby.

By the time she returned to the living room, Ichigo had stretched out and was snoring lightly in a drunken sleep. Lifting his head, she slid the pillow under him then covered him up with the light quilt; another gift from her loving grandmother. Since he was dead asleep, Riko indulged in studying his handsome face. The hard angles had softened into cherubic roundness as his cheeks puffed out in sleep. It also helped that he was not wearing his trademark scowl as if he were angry with the world and everyone in it. Maybe he was. Being a cop, he only saw the the dregs of society, the bad parts of people, all of the negativity and evil humanity had to offer. Her fingers drifted down his cheek, luxuriating in the soft skin that still astounded her with its smoothness. Cupping his cheek, her thumb lay next to his lips that were pushed out in a pout. Dark pink, full, and oh so kissable - dare she even think about it? He would absolutely die if he knew what she was thinking. Rubbing the pad of her thumb across his delectable bottom lip, she gave into temptation. Hovering over him, carefully lining her mouth up with his, she lowered her lips to his. Feeling something like the roles had been reversed from Sleeping Beauty, she knew for certain she did not want to wake him. This thought enabled her to keep the kiss brief and innocent. Noiselessly hopping to her feet, she rushed to her bedroom, pausing to carefully close the door behind her. There was no need to lock it because she knew there was no threat of sexual misconduct from the man in her living room. Flinging herself on the bed, she touched her tingling lips as she stared at the chipped paint on her ceiling in the weak early morning light. Closing her eyes, she cursed herself for being an idiot. He was like a drug to her. Now that she had a small taste she wanted more. Concentrating on the way his lips had felt against hers, she imagined pressing harder, more insistently, until their lips parted simultaneously and their tongues met. All of a sudden she experienced a small bit of understanding toward her sister and her addictions although the two really could not compare.

"Dammit," she muttered into the darkness, clutching her arousal tightened belly while she rolled onto her side. Her mind filled with all sorts of indecent thoughts about the decent and seemingly virginal man on her couch. It had been a long time since she had been with a man and that fact had not bothered her until this moment as an uncomfortable need took root within her. But she didn't want just any man to satisfy a base animal need. She wanted _him:_ Ichigo Kurosaki. There were so many things she already liked about him and found new ones tonight when they had taken time between movies to discuss their personal lives, particularly their families.

Ichigo told her that it had just been his sisters and his dad for twenty years after his mother had died in a tragic accident. He had not offered details about the accident and the hurt in his eyes had kept her from asking for them. Riko's mother had died giving birth to Mai. Their father could not handle being around his youngest daughter who he viewed as a constant reminder of why his beloved wife had died. Unfortunately for her, Riko was her mother made over, looks and personality wise, so he dumped the girls at their grandmother's house and took off to never be heard from again. Riko turned to being a workaholic to cope, having her first job at a restaurant at age ten to help out their grandmother with the bills. For fourteen years, she had worked difficult, dead end jobs just to pay the bills. There was no time to further her education because by the time she graduated from high school, her younger sister by two years had a full blown drug habit. She was too busy to think about college because she was working two or three jobs to replace the money that her sister had stolen for drugs from their grandmother while paying fines and bail money when Mai went to jail. They both had endured challenging, somewhat dysfunctional, and definitely less than happy childhoods due to circumstances beyond their control.

Riko hugged her pillow to her body, groaning in misery. Tonight had been a mistake. She had only found more things to like about the man who seemed to barely notice she was alive. Never before had the word friend been so awful. She was a buddy, a pal, one of the boys for all the difference it made. Someone with whom to drink beer, eat pizza, and watch movies. She had successfully clinched her title as a _real _friend tonight. Yay...dammit.

* * *

Once again, I made additions after this was beta-ed. My bad for any typos, not my beta, xfang-girlx. She's a real gem to help me since she's busy with her own life.


	4. Chapter 4

Ichigo rolled over and hit the floor promptly receiving a rude awakening. Glancing around with apprehension and confusion, he tried to grasp where he was. Oh, yeah. He was in Riko's apartment sleeping off the beers and pizza after watching movies with her all night. Grunting from the effort exerted by his muscles that were not ready to function yet, he pushed himself up to a sitting position. Thankfully he had fallen in the space between the table and couch without hurting himself. Well, almost without hurting himself, he mentally corrected as he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead that had contacted the floor which had been only minimally cushioned with an area rug the same mahogany brown as the couch. He picked up his phone from the table right in front of him. It was four in the afternoon. Dragging his body onto the couch, he sucked in a deep breath. He would have to be at work soon. His shift had been moved to the six pm to six am shift instead of the swing shift of noon to midnight. The hours of his job really sucked sometimes. Even when he was off work, he was really never away from the job. Sighing noisily, he scrubbed his hand over his face in frustration. Although it was the career he had chosen, sometimes he pondered the possibility that he had made a mistake. The door to his left creaked open and a very disheveled and still half asleep Riko emerged.

Ichigo watched with fascination, openly staring at her since she seemed oblivious to his presence. It was like observing a bear coming out of hibernation. Her eyes were still closed, her curly hair a tangled mess around her face that was still pudgy and pink from sleep and creased from being crammed into the pillow. The corners of his mouth twitched with the beginnings of a smile as she yawned with a roar while stretching her arms above her head. His eyes slid over her flat, creamy white belly that was revealed when her sweatshirt raised from the extensive stretch. Warmth flooded his face when she pushed the material higher, showing the round undersides of her breasts. He could not look away even she scratched her belly distractedly before she turned to stumble toward the bathroom where she disappeared again.

_What the hell was that?_, he mused to himself, feeling the urge to chuckle. Ichigo had seen many different sides of her - perhaps too many. From an elegant beauty queen to an innocent girl to...to a disturbingly somewhat masculine side complete with beer and pizza and inappropriate scratching. At least it wasn't her crotch. Speaking of...Ichigo shifted when the typical and irritating morning hardness made itself known. Unfortunately, this morning it also throbbed because of seeing more of her than he had expected. Hearing the click of the bathroom door opening, he raised himself off the couch. He offered her a shy smile when she stared at him in wide-eyed surprise. Her hair had been tamed and her faced scrubbed clean but was still bare of make up.

"Oh! You're still here!" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to back into the bathroom and hide. She was mortified to know he had been there when she came out of her bedroom looking like some kind of horror movie creature.

"Wow," he murmured, his smile widening. "You're human again."

Riko felt a wash of warmth and humiliation flood her from her head down to her toes. This feeling was becoming all too familiar when she was around him. Lowering her eyes to avoid looking into his very amused brown ones, she shuffled past him, mumbling, "Would you like some coffee?"

"I'd love some," he returned, going into the bathroom.

"Oh, God, please, please just kill me now," she prayed under her breath, reaching into the cabinet for the coffee filters. "I've never been so embarrassed in all my life."

_Sure, you have, _her inner voice mocked. _Why just the other day - _

"Shut up!" she snapped out loud to quiet the inner monologue that was about to take place detailing her run in with Ichigo on the street. Actually that had worked out quite well. He had gotten her phone number and came over to her apartment. _Would that be considered a date?_, she pondered, scooping spoonfuls of the fragrant grounds into the filter. _Of course not. It was movies and dinner with a __friend_. "Dammit," she grumbled, shoving the glass pot under the running water to fill it.

"Hey," Ichigo called, his voice soft.

Riko jumped, nearly losing her grip on the coffee pot in her hand. She lurched forward, grabbing the pot with her other hand to keep it from falling and breaking in the bottom of the porcelain sink. Ignoring him momentarily while she poured the water into the machine, she gathered her senses and found her voice before turning to look at him.

"I just wanted to let you know, it will be while before I come back to the club because my shift has changed," he informed her, not sure why he felt the need to tell her. He never had before.

"Okay," she responded, feeling a bit disappointed. Turning her back to him so he would not see the sadness on her face, she set about gathering cups and spoons. She knew his shift changed every few months, and she always got spoiled during the months he was able to frequent the club. Unfortunately, she was always sad when she knew she would not be seeing him. Stupid, stupid woman. How could she have allowed herself to fall in love with him?

"But..." he murmured, keeping his eyes on the back of her head as she bent to retrieve the cream from the refrigerator. He wanted to see her again and not in three months when his shift changed again. Besides, he preferred seeing her away from the club without the beauty pageant contestant looks and attitude - when she was a _real_ woman. "I'd like for you to come to my house for dinner. When are you off again?"

_When am I off again?_ She could not think for the love of God or man at the moment because he had shocked her with the invitation. Feeling like Winnie the Pooh (and a complete idiot) as she coached herself to think, think, think, she edged past him to put the cream on the counter between their cups. Her fingers shook as she reached for the sugar bowl. _Oh, good Lord, Riko, how old are you?_, she chastised herself. Distracting herself with pouring a cup of coffee, she mumbled, "Uh...um...I'll be off again in four days."

"Great! Me too. I'll see you then. I'll call you to finalize the time and to give you my address. I'm sure I'll talk to you before then though," he said, gratefully taking the cup of glorious coffee from her.

"Okay. Sounds great," she calmly returned. On the inside, she was screaming, _Yes, yes, YES! _Not only was she going to be seeing him again, but he already promised he would talk to her soon. It was not a flippant, 'I'll call you' as he was running for the door so surely that meant something. But what?

~...~

"Well, well, aren't we all aglow? Who's the lucky guy?" Haineko inquired as they stood in front of the large mirror putting the finishing touches on their make-up. "Or should I ask, who'd you get lucky with?"

"No one," Riko answered, unable to stop smiling while she was trying to apply a second coat of lipstick. "Ichigo did come over pizza and beer."

"No sex?" her friend asked, frowning at Riko as their eyes met in the mirror.

"No. We're just friends," she muttered, her smile disappearing. At least she was able to put on her lipstick now. A soft blush tinted her cheeks when she remembered stealing an innocent kiss from the sleeping man. Her phone buzzed and skittered across the slick white and gold marble top of the make up table. "Hey! Give that back!" she yelled when Haineko grabbed her phone.

The overtly nosy woman shamelessly pressed the keys to open the text message. After reading it and indulging in a shrill, juvenile giggle, she read the text aloud. To Riko's chagrin, she read it loud enough for the other girls to hear who quickly gathered around. "Thank you for last night. I look forward to seeing you again."

The questions were hurled at her with the speed and fury of an automatic pitching machine gone berserk. "Who's that from?" "Is it that orange haired cop who always come here to see you?" "What did you do?" "How good was he?" And on and on the questions continued.

"Girls! Girls! GIRLS!" Rangiku bellowed to quiet the women whose voices and laughter had raised to a deafening cacophony. She snatched the phone from Haineko, giving her a hard glare. Handing the phone back to Riko, she glowered at her disapprovingly. "Come to my office, we need to talk."

"Yes, ma'am," Riko replied, following her less than happy boss. She felt like a child who had just been sent to the principal's office. Keeping her head down, she took a seat on one of the plush sky blue velvet chairs that looked like a high heeled shoe. She fastened her eyes to the snow white carpet of the room as Rangiku took a seat at her ornate white and gold antique French writing desk. Everything in her office was decorous, feminine, and pretty - just like her.

"Riko, how can you do this? You know it's against the rules to see clients away from work," Rangiku reminded her sternly.

"I know, but he's just a friend. There's nothing romantic going on," Riko explained, raising her eyes to look at her boss. It startled her to see how sad the woman looked. "I wish there was something romantic going on but there's not."

"Even so, this isn't allowed." Rangiku sighed loudly and leaned back in her modern white leather desk chair. "There are rules and certain actions must be taken when those rules have been violated."

"What are you saying?" Riko leaned forward, apprehension growing within her like an insidious plant that began to spread its vines through her body.

"I'm saying if this doesn't stop, I'll have to fire you," she said, closing her eyes as she hauled in a shaky breath. She did not want to do this. Riko was one of her favorite girls and she genuinely liked her. She was one of the most professional girls as well and the one she never had to worry about doing stupid things. Until now.

"But we're just - "

"I understand, Riko but if I bend the rules for you I'll have to do it for the others. At some point, someone will bend them until they break."

Riko reclined against the back of the chair, staring up at the ceiling. She did not want to endanger the Ichimaru's livelihood or her job. But she did not want to lose Ichigo in her life either. So what if he would never be more than a friend? He was a very good one. He hated her job anyway and had been encouraging her to quit so -

"I quit."

"What?" Rangiku questioned her, blinking in bewilderment. "Are you sure?"

"No," she admitted, sitting up to stare at her fingers that nervously twisted around each other in her lap.

"Take a few days to think about it. Come back and talk to me then. If you still want to quit, put in a two weeks notice. If you still haven't found a job by then, I will allow you to stay on until you do," her patient and understanding boss told her. Her usually kind blue eyes held a callous edge as they regarded her obstinate employee. "In the meantime, if you continue to see that man, friends or whatever, I will have no choice but to fire you."

"I understand." Riko shakily rose to her feet. She bowed respectfully to Rangiku and made her way to the door. After putting her hand on the doorknob, she paused, saying, "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry."

Rangiku smiled. She already knew what choice Riko would make in the end. All she could hope for was that idiot cop would realize how much that girl loved him and that he was worth her sacrifice.

~...~

Riko was beginning to think she had made a mistake by quitting her job. In her emotional fervor, she had not taken into her account the deficit of jobs nor the numerous competitors for the few existing ones. After another morning of fruitless efforts, she was ready to go home, take a hot shower, and cry until she fell asleep. Unfortunately, that would not pay her bills, so she would have to keep searching for a job. Sitting down on a bench, she kicked off her high heels because her feet were killing her. Curling and uncurling her toes to relax her sore, tired feet, she pulled off her jacket to fold it neatly and lay it across the back of the bench next to her. She tugged at the hem of black skirt to pull it over her knees when a man carrying a briefcase gave her an appreciative glance while walking by. When he continued to stare, his piercing dark blue eyes studying her intently, she buttoned the top buttons of her high necked, sleeveless white silk shirt so that it was closed all the way up to chin. Her fingers nervously played with the rows of ruffles that covered the buttons while the man continued to stare. She was not accustomed to being stared at like this away from the club. He was actually quite nice looking. His porcelain complexion made a lovely contrast against his shiny raven black hair that was short except for the chin length bangs which framed his thin face. His striking indigo blue eyes peered at her from behind rectangular shaped rimless glasses.

"Pardon me, miss," the man with the unwavering gaze said, sitting down next to her. "I apologize for staring. You just look like someone else I know."

Riko slid down the bench to put more distance between them, nearly falling off the edge. She felt his fingers enclose her wrist before pulling her back across the wood to her original position which was uncomfortably close to him. Almost landing on her ass around handsome men had become a really bad habit of hers. Her eyes skimmed over his pale baby blue suit and perfectly pressed, stiffly starched white shirt before resting on the silvery blue tie he wore covered with white Celtic crosses.

"Are you a preacher?" she asked, warily eyeing the crosses before lifting her eyes to his.

"Huh? A what?" he queried, understanding when she pointed to the silver cross on the bracelet around his wrist. "Oh, that. I'm not a priest. It's my family symbol."

"Oh, okay," she rejoined, relaxing a little. Men who felt the need the save her made her nervous because they always meant trouble for her. She inhaled sharply when a picture of a certain orange haired cop formed in her mind.

"Do you have a sister?" the man inquired, drawing her attention back to him.

"I do. Her name is Mai," she answered, her eyebrows drawing together in concern as she gave him a suspicious glare. "Why? How do you know her?"

Riko glowered at him trying to guess how he knew her sister. He was not a priest so had not been interested in saving her soul. Giving him another once over, she surmised he was not a drug dealer because he was too well dressed. A king pin maybe? Her eyes bore into to his in an attempt to gauge what kind of man he could be. His eyes seemed to be honest and open so he could not be a criminal. However, she had been accused of being relentlessly naive.

"She came to my father's hospital for detoxing," he explained when she continued to gaze at him with a dubious expression. "She and the baby will be fine. At least the child will not be born a drug addict."

Shame wrapped around her like a hot, uncomfortable blanket. She lowered her eyes to the ground, staring at the red nail polish on her toenails. "Oh, I see."

"She will be having the baby at our facility as well. The hospital has agreed to pay for her expenses," he told her, noticing her face turned deathly white a split second before it became a flaming red color.

"Thank you for your charity but I assure you my family can pay their own bills," she informed him, a convoluted sense of pride and dishonor making her voice rise and her back stiffen. At this moment, she regretted quitting her job at the hostess club twice as much because she would need to pay the hospital back. "What hospital is it?" she demanded, grabbing her purse to dig around for a paper and pen. Unable to find either one, she noted his briefcase and snapped, "Never mind. I will give you my address and you can send me the bill."

"Hey, wait a minute," he said, reaching out to take her by the wrist again. "I didn't tell you that to ask for payment. Besides, it's something we do for charity cases and - "

"Charity cases!" she screeched, jumping to her feet and snatching her wrist from his grip. She did not even notice the heat of the cement sidewalk beneath her feet. She was too outraged and embarrassed. Her grandmother had accused of her being too prideful, never accepting anyone's help. "I assure you I am not a charity case and I pay my bills. Now if you will tell me which hospital - "

"Karakura General Hospital," he announced loudly, his voice inadvertently rising in response to hers. He stood up in front of her, looking down at her since he was taller by several inches. "You may not be a charity case but your sister is. Do you really think you can afford the expenses that will run into several thousand dollars once the labor and delivery are done? She has already ran up quite an expensive tab with her extensive stay for detoxification not to mention nursing her back to health from malnutrition. Where were you when she was getting high and starving to death?"

"The same place I've always been," she responded, plopping down on the bench. The wind had been promptly snatched from her proverbial sails and now she was deflated physically and feeling morally defeated. Tears burned her eyes as she raised them to look at the offended man who glared at her with his fists jammed into his skinny hips. "At home, worried about her...wondering when she would show up half dead from her horrible lifestyle."

"Oh..." he murmured, looking a bit shell shocked himself. He elegantly and almost femininely sat back down on the bench beside her, crossing his legs. "Well, we don't mind helping those who need it. The hospital has a special fund set up to help people."

"How do you know so much about it?" she grumbled, putting her shoes back on.

"Because I'm in charge of the, as you so eloquently put it, charity cases. It's my job to take the applications for financial assistance and process them. Part of that process is interviewing the patient. I'm the Director of Financial Services," he explained, holding out his hand for her to shake it. "Forgive my rudeness, my name is Uryū Ishida."

"Riko Shirane," she replied, shaking his hand. How odd that she would come across this man out of the blue. Chuckling mirthlessly, she sighed sadly when she remembered why she was here today in the first place. "I don't even have a job at the moment so I suppose I am a charity case."

"Well, I'm looking for an administrative assistant. Can you type, file, use a phone and fax machine?" he inquired, studying her over the top of his glasses.

"Yes. It's been a while since I've done office work but I do have experience," she responded, excitement building within her. She had done nearly every job under the sun to enable her little family to survive while growing up. It had long been a habit that on the rare occasions she had 'extra' money, she would send her grandmother a check despite being told it was not necessary.

"Come by my office tomorrow. We'll work out the details," he said, reaching inside his coat to pull out a card.

"Thank you, Mr. Ishida," she replied, taking the card eagerly. She looked at the plain silvery blue script on the card heralding his name and his office address. A Celtic cross symbol in the top left corner was the only decorative element on the card but would be considered minimal at best.

"Please, call me Uryū," he encouraged her, retrieving his briefcase and standing up from the bench.

"I prefer, Mr. Ishida. It's more professional," she rejoined, standing up as well.

"As you wish, Miss Shirane," he replied politely with a slight smile on his face. He returned her perfunctory bow before walking away. At least she seemed courteous and capable of professionalism. That was more than he could say for his bubble brained, orange haired assistant who he had just fired last week. He doubted she could spell professionalism. The woman had shown time and time again professional conduct was not a part of her less than stellar skill set. Shaking his head, he realized he had been momentarily blinded by the size of the woman's physical attributes, more specifically her breasts, rather than being impressed with her job experience. He had replaced virtually every piece of office equipment because she had broken them due to her lack of ability to use them correctly. How difficult could it be to use a stapler for God's sake? At least he had not been carried away with the beauty of Riko Shirane. It was her feisty personality that had captured his imagination.

Riko was virtually skipping down the sidewalk in elation. She had just gotten a job, Mai was drug free and doing wonderfully, and best of all, she would be having dinner with Ichigo that night. Today could possibly be the best day of her life. As if on cue, her phone began to chirp from her purse. Her heart skipped a beat then sped up once it started beating again. It was Ichigo.

"Hello?" she sang into the phone.

"Hey there! You sound happy," he remarked as if surprised.

"I'm extremely happy," she replied, going on to deliver her good news. "I've got a new job! I'm going to be an administrative assistant." She left out the part of why she had quit working at the club and was stingy with the details about her new job - mostly due to the fact that she did not have that many herself.

"Congratulations on your new job." Ichigo sported a smile despite himself. He was exceedingly thrilled she no longer worked at the hostess club. "Riko, do you have something to write my address down on?"

"Can you text it to me?"

"Sure. Be here by seven okay?"

"See you then."

Riko hung up, seeing that it was only two in the afternoon. She had enough time to slip in an at home spa afternoon before meeting him for dinner. A long, hot steamy shower, a facial mask, a nap...it would be great.

~...~

Ichigo received a text message at seven-thirty apologizing for her lateness and advising him that she was on her way. He smiled, texting back that it was fine. She was a real woman after all, running fashionable late as they were prone to do. Getting up from his couch covered with cream-colored suede, he passed through the dining room to take already filled plates from the table to the kitchen to wait until her arrival to reheat them. His sister Yuzu had come over to help him prepare dinner. Yuzu had chatted incessantly the whole time, thrilled to assist him since he had a woman coming over. Several times he had explained to her that Riko was only a friend and each time his explanation was patently ignored. He stared at the table that was set for a romantic dinner. The highly polished silverware gleamed in the golden glow of the half melted candles. Looking down at his attire, a stuffy suit, he realized this was ridiculous - this was not a date but his friend coming over for dinner and a movie. Blowing out the candles, he took the glasses and bottle of wine from the formally set table to leave them on the coffee table in the living room. His next destination was his bedroom where he changed into a t-shirt and jeans.

In the meantime, Riko had arrived outside and paid the cab driver to send him on his way. She halted on the sidewalk in front of Ichigo's house to just stare for a moment. He lived in a fabulously upper middle class neighborhood rife with two car garages and kids toys strewn across the intricately manicured lawns. She chewed her lip as she studied the two-story white house in front of her that looked like it should be featured in an architecture magazine. On either side of the front door, which was painted a shiny black color, sat cement planters that resembled Greek urns that were full to bursting with red geraniums. Once she had made her way up to the porch which seemed to wrap around at least half of the house, she used the highly polished brass knocker to knock on the door. She contemplated the possibility that her run down little apartment in the garden district had been downright appalling to him. If it had been disgusting to him, he had not given her any indication of it. She suddenly felt very self-conscious about her extremely casual attire of ripped blue jeans and a t-shirt. Switching the six-pack of beer nervously from hand to hand, she jumped when the door opened. Releasing an audible sigh of relief, she saw he was dressed the same way.

"I brought you a present," she said, lifting up the six-pack.

"Thanks," he replied, taking it and backing away to allow her inside. "There's wine too."

Riko followed him through the foyer with hardwood floors that gleamed in the muted light from the few lamps that were on. A staircase along the wall to her left led upstairs. Glancing to her right, she saw a formal dining room where the table had been set for a romantic dinner for two. The heat of excitement rushed through her body but gave way to a mild sense of dismay when they passed the dining room to continue on to the living room. There was already a movie playing and two plates of food along with a bottle of wine sat on the coffee table in front of the television. When she saw the chicken Marsala, her favorite dish, her emotions soared so high so quickly she felt a bit light-headed. Her stomach growled causing her to promptly recall that she had not eaten since breakfast.

"I second your stomach's emotion, let's eat," he laughed, trying to set her at ease when he saw the dark pink blush cover her face.

Riko ate with the enthusiasm of a starving man. When she asked for seconds, Ichigo was not only shocked but relieved that Yuzu had left the rest for him to have for lunch the next day. She stood up to stroll around the living room while he took her plate to the kitchen which was behind a wall to the right, next to the dining room. The room contained a matching couch, loveseat and chair along with end tables and the coffee table, sat in a snug u-shape with the tv as the focal point. There was a fireplace full of neatly stacked river stones instead of the fake ceramic gas logs beneath the television. She had never seen anything like that before. On the shelves flanking the tv and fireplace sat numerous family pictures but no books. Looking over each one that spanned his life from birth to his graduation from police academy, she smiled to see each picture included him and his family minus the member taking the picture. She studied the pictures containing the image of the woman with golden brown hair and dark brown eyes: his mother. Picking up a picture of her and his dad in a glass frame, she eyes traced the faces of the exceedingly happy couple before centering on the frame. Roses had been carved out of glass to comprise the corners while the stems and leaves twined together around the sides to create the rest of the frame. Her fingers moved over the amazingly detailed thorns that had been skillfully etched into the frosted glass.

"She's beautiful isn't she?" he asked, setting their plates on the table.

"She is," Riko agreed, returning the picture to its place on the shelf. She held her breath when he came to stand so close to her she could feel the warmth of his body. Her eyes went to his sad eyes as he picked up the picture to look at more closely.

"You remind me of her," he murmured in a barely audible voice.

"What was she like?" she inquired, following his hand as he set the picture down.

"She was kind, loving, a great mother. She was tough when she needed to be," he said with a low chuckle. "She had to be to deal with my Dad."

"He seems like a good man." She turned into him, pressing her hand against his muscled chest over his heart when he moved closer.

"He is." As if moving of their own volition, his fingers reached up to glide through her hair while he stared into the mocha colored eyes that were very much like his mother's.

"You are good man too," she assured him, her breath halting when his hand lay against her jaw while his eyes held hers captive.

About that time, Ichigo's phone rang, destroying the moment. Riko quickly moved to the couch to occupy herself with eating while he moved to get his phone from the end table between the couch and overstuffed chair.

"Renji, you moron, I told you not to call," he growled into the phone. His face reddened then he snarled through his teeth. "If I were doing that I damn sure wouldn't answer the phone. Good-bye, you idiot."

Riko contained the desire to laugh by shoveling food into her mouth. She finished off the wine in her glass and nodded when he asked if she wanted more.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, refilling his glass as well with the slightly sweet white wine. "He is a complete dumbass."

"I don't know. He strikes me as being a complete goof which is actually sort of attractive. I like men that make me laugh," she added off handedly. Her attention was diverted from the movie when he grew very quiet. She looked at him to see he was staring at her with one orange eyebrow raised all the way to the hairline of his wild spiky hair. With her mouth full, she mumbled, "What?"

"You like men that make you laugh, do you?" Ichigo challenged, waiting for her to finish chewing the mouthful of food. After hearing the audible swallow, he grabbed her and dug his fingers into her sides.

Riko squealed and giggled as he commenced to tickling her mercilessly. She laughed and screamed until she could not take it anymore, "Stop or I'm going to throw up!" she warned him, sincerely feeling sick at her stomach. She was still giggling when he took her by the hand and pulled her to a sitting position.

"I really like spending time with you. You're the best friend I've ever had," he commented as they positioned themselves side by side on the couch to once again try to watch the movie.

Touchdown in the Friend Zone! Hooray! The crowd goes wild but Riko wants to cry. She had been officially upgraded from _friend_ to _**best**__ friend_.


	5. Chapter 5

As always, thanks to my beta xfang-girlx. Thank you to everyone for the reviews as well! I appreciate them greatly! :D

* * *

Riko had been taken home by Ichigo, arriving at her apartment building at exactly midnight. Before he left, he wished her good luck at her new job and asked her text or call to tell him how her first day went. She even received a good luck kiss on the cheek which made her heart sprout wings and fly. Her excitement over his simple kiss coupled with the fact she was accustomed to being awake all night made it impossible for her to fall asleep. Being nervous about her new job did not help calm her either. She finally fell into a fitful sleep around four only to awake before her alarm at six. Adrenaline would have to be her fuel for the day, that and caffeine, rather than a restful night's sleep.

Despite her lack of sleep, Riko arrived at the office tower adjacent to the hospital buildings promptly at eight the next morning. The hospital itself occupied three of the ten story tall glass buildings set apart from the building containing the offices, but they looked identical. Thankfully, they were all identified by large, plain, blue and white signs bearing the name of each building. Knee high bushes cut into immaculate squares lined the labyrinth of sidewalks that crisscrossed the area between the buildings and linked them with walkways that led straight to the front doors of each. Benches were also set along the sidewalks at intervals where trees had been strategically planted to shade them. The whole area was extremely tidy, serene, and uniformly designed which managed to set it apart from the dirty, loud, haphazard city surrounding it. At any moment, Riko expected to see workers arrive who were solely dedicated to cleaning everything from the sidewalks to the bushes. Maybe they only came out at night. Laughing at her own silly thoughts, she hurried up the sidewalk to the building marked with the sign _Karakura General Hospital Business Offices._ This sign was different from the others in that it bore a cross with a pentagram in a circle centered over the cross bars.

"Interesting," Riko murmured to herself, seizing the door handle in the shape of the same pentacle cross.

"Can I help you?" the dark-haired receptionist asked, giving her an insincere smile because her job required the greeting.

"I'm here to see, Mr. Ishida," she responded, noticing the woman's lips were firmly locked in position to maintain the plastic smile. Fascinating.

"Which one?" she inquired with a fierce glint in her eyes.

"Which one?" Riko echoed, raising and eyebrow. Upon remembering he had told her that his father owned the hospital, she reached inside her purse to retrieve the business card to hand it to the woman. "Uryū Ishida, the Director of Financial Services. My name is Riko Shirane. I'm his new administrative assistant."

"Oh." The woman's fake smile instantly fell into a genuine frown. She dialed a number, staring at her phone while she waited for someone to pick up on the other end. "There's a Riko Shirane here to see you, sir." After a short pause, she hung up the phone. Motioning to the mirrored silver doors of the elevator, she said, "You can go on up. Top floor. Go to the right and it's the door at the end of the hall."

Riko nodded, gripping the strap of her purse tightly as she walked to the elevator. Smoothing her hand over her hair, she was glad she had worn her hair up in a bun because she was about to melt from the heat caused by excessive nervousness. She hated the bundle of nerves she became when starting a new job. This feeling of tension would last at least a week, possibly longer, until she became accustomed to her new boss and new job. Chewing her lower lip and too nervous to care about messing up her lipstick, she took a few deep breaths in an attempt to tame the anxiety before she stepped off the elevator onto the eighth floor. Greeted with blinding white walls and gleaming white floors, she paused to allow her eyes to adjust before moving toward the desk where two women wearing headsets answered the constantly ringing phones. The blonde woman smiled at her and pointed to the right. Riko nodded in acknowledgement and turned on the skinny heel of her black stiletto to walk down the hall. Her eyes locked onto the plain white door at the end of the long hall with his name and title emblazoned on the door in the same silvery blue color that had been on the card. Pausing in front of the door, she rummaged in her purse for tissues on which to wipe her sweaty hands before she knocked on the door.

"Enter," the man called from the other side.

"Good morning, Mr. Ishida," Riko said cheerily, stepping into the office. She was almost blinded again by all of the white: walls, floor, furniture - everything was a disturbingly pure, unblemished white. This place must be an absolute nightmare to keep clean. All that white was occasionally interrupted with an accent of rich indigo blue that matched his eyes.

"Good morning," he returned, rising from the chair behind his white lacquered desk that was so shiny the surface was reflective like a mirror. He stopped abruptly on his way around the desk to give her a lengthy once over from head to toe. Red. She was wearing a blood-red dress made of silk that made her stick out like the metaphorical sore thumb. The dress was simple in design, wrapping around her body and tying at her waist. It looked like all a man would have to do to disrobe her would be to pull the tail of that delicate little bow resting on her hip. Clearing his throat and his mind, he admonished her, "You're late. Don't let it happen again."

"I was here promptly at eight," she protested. Could he really be that anal?

"You might have been downstairs promptly at eight but you arrived here at exactly five minutes after the hour," he corrected her, sitting back down in his navy blue leather chair.

"Are you kidding me?" she snorted, receiving a no-nonsense glare in return. Yes, he could be that anal.

"I am not in possession of a sense of humor so no, I'm not kidding," he rejoined, adjusting the position of the items on his desk although they were already in a completely straight line across the front. "Sit down, Miss Shirane. There are a few things we must discuss."

Riko sat down in the chair, her discomfort increasing by the moment as he proceeded to give her a fifteen minute long speech about punctuality. He was quite a bit different in the office than he had been when he talked to her while sitting on the bench down the street. After the extensive haranguing about being on time, she received a strict briefing on company policies such as dress code, breaks, benefits, and the like. When he seemed to be drawing his information overload session to a close, she glanced down at her watch. The man had been speaking for two hours straight. No wonder she had a headache.

"I'll be frank with you Ms. Shirane."

Riko resisted the temptation to sigh in frustration and roll her eyes. Her hopes that he was done talking had immediately been dashed. Straightening up in the chair in which she was sitting, she forced herself to be attentive to his words.

"I hired you for your personality. I believe you can use that stubbornness and pride of yours to my advantage," he said bluntly, standing up from his chair. Walking around his desk to stand in front of her, he continued. "It is my responsibility to raise funds for the assistance program. I do this through contacting donors and arranging charity events throughout the year. I believe you can help me greatly in this area since you seem to believe in getting things done and don't like to take no for an answer."

Riko self-consciously shifted in the chair as he studied her. She was not sure whether to be offended or flattered. Standing up in front him because she did not like him looming over her aggressively, her eyes met his and she put out her hand. The salary he had agreed to pay her was double what she had been making at the club. Despite his aggravating uptight personality, it was an offer she could not overlook much less turn down. She smiled when he took her hand and shook it to seal the deal.

"Now, if you will follow me, I will show you to your office," he announced, walking to the door in a manner that seemed almost military in its precision.

Riko found it remarkable that his white suit did not have a single crease. Even his clothes were as unbending as the man wearing them. Sighing and shaking her head, she contemplated what she had gotten herself into. Straightening her shoulders and raising her chin with a haughty attitude, she strode past him to wait in the hall for him to lead her to her office. She followed him noting that there was only one other door in the desolate hallway and it was near the end. This was going to put her far away from the elevator, her one escape route. She would also have to pass his office to get to it. The wall at the end of the hall was nothing more than a massive frame-less pane of glass that was so clean and clear it gave the impression that there was a huge rectangular opening in the side of the building. Briefly looking out, she could see across the whole area owned by the hospital. There was even a small lake complete with ducks across the back of the property.

"Wow," she gasped, pausing to enjoy the view.

"Miss Shirane, we will tour the grounds later. If you please," he said, opening the door and waving his hand as if he were a showroom hostess. "Please, familiarize yourself with your office. Make a list of anything you will need. I will be back later."

"Of course," she returned, her eyes darting around the pristine white office. She had never seen so much white everything in all of her life. Her mind immediately began formulating ways to add color to her dull surroundings.

A white couch that resembled a piece of modern art sat to her left in the alcove in front of the wall sized window. Obviously this side of the building was all glass. That couch would require cushy throw pillows in every color of the rainbow to pretty it up a bit. The chairs on either side of it would need a few as well. The white French writing desk and leather chair reminded her of the ones in Rangiku's office. Sighing a bit sadly, she tossed her purse onto the desktop that was bare except for an elegant white old-fashioned phone. Somehow she had the sinking feeling that phone possessed only one line and it ran to the office next to hers so her boss could call for her anytime. Shelves covered the wall to her right and were filled with all sorts of office supplies from a clunky copier/fax machine to paper and pens. Grabbing one of the sheets of crisp clean paper and a pen, she began to write her list.

"Miss Shirane, are you ready for that tour of the grounds?" Uryū inquired, stepping into the office.

"Almost," she replied, scribbling fervently on the piece of paper. After writing her last request, she handed the paper to him. She watched as he straightened his glasses and proceeded to read the short list, the scowl deepening on his face.

"Throw pillows?" he questioned her, repositioning his glasses again. "I can help you sew those if you like."

"What?" she giggled, thinking he was joking. When he glared at her with his piercing blue eyes, she immediately remembered his warning that he did not have a sense of humor. "You sew?" she ventured, feeling her face warm with a blush.

"I do," he answered, obviously a bit miffed when he sniffed indignantly. "And I do it quite well. It will help us cut costs to do it ourselves. It could be something we do for a fundraiser as well."

Riko folded her arms across her waist, pinching the tender flesh on the inside of her arm to keep from laughing. Was he seriously asking her join a private sewing bee to create her own throw pillows for her office? And a fundraiser? No way. "Sir, it would not be efficient time or cost wise as a fundraiser. However, on a more personal level, pillows or stuffed animals could be sewn to be given to the chronically ill children who are hospitalized frequently and for long periods of time. As a comfort object to soothe them," she added when he stared at her in silence. He could be fiercely intimidating without saying a word.

"That's a wonderful idea. I like the way you think," he told her, a smile daring to turn up the corners of his lips. However, the grin was denied access to his stony face and he pushed the corners back down into a frown. "As for now, I'd like to show you around the property."

_God...this guy is even more of a downer than Ichigo at his most grouchy, _Riko thought to herself, unable to keep the smile from her lips after thinking of her best friend. Rolling her eyes, she dutifully followed her new boss as he led her to the elevator. The ride down granted her the gift of silence which would be woefully short lived.

Uryū launched into another marathon monologue as they strolled along the labyrinth of sidewalks. He told her the history of how his father began his career. Riko was shocked to learn that Ryūken Ishida had actually began in private practice as a doctor like Ichigo's father. The divergent paths they had taken was incredible: Dr. Kurosaki became the owner of a non-profit free clinic while his contemporary went on to become the owner of a profitable business empire that just happens to be a premiere medical facility. As they passed each building, Uryū explained what medical specialties each one housed in addition to the amenities that were contained therein such as a full-scale restaurant, not just an institutional cafeteria. One building even had a coffee house inside of it. They paused outside of the women's and children's building. Riko stared at the building for a lengthy amount of time.

"What is it?" Uryū inquired when her eyes became overly shiny with tears.

"Do you have a no questions asked policy if a mother chooses to abandon her child? You know if they want to just walk away after having the child...without being held accountable?" she inquired tentatively, carefully choosing her words.

"Well, yes, but why would you ask such a thing?" His dark eyebrows had drawn together with worry. "Is it because of your sister?"

"Mostly because of the baby," she answered truthfully without looking at him. "I don't trust her to take care of the baby. I'm afraid she'll go right back to doing drugs and where would that leave an innocent child? What kind of life would the child have?" She turned her head to gaze at him pleadingly. "There's no way you can prevent her from leaving with the baby is there?"

"No, there's nothing we can do. The baby is hers after all." He gently rested his hand on her upper arm when he saw the despondency in her brown eyes. "I think she'll be okay. The drugs are out of her system. The baby will be fine. If she's anything like you - "

"She's nothing like me," she spat at him venomously, pushing his hand away from her arm. She turned on her heel to quickly stalk away from him.

"I didn't mean to offend you!" he called after her, having to walk fast to catch up with her. He wrapped his slender fingers around the top of her arms, pulling her to a stop. "Hey! You're not making a very good impression on your first day."

"I'm sorry," she apologized, attempting to rein in her emotions that had gotten away from her. "I've just been disappointed and hurt by her too many times in the past. Hoping she had changed and had left it all behind...but she hadn't. She didn't want to."

"Would you like to take a walk around the pond? Give both of us a chance to calm down?" he suggested, holding her arm with a loose grip.

Riko noticed the coolness of the fingers that grasped her arm. Sweat rolled down her back as the sun beat down on them. It was the middle of summer and hot as the seventh circle of hell, how could it not effect him? Her eyes met his deep blue ones that had taken on a kindness she did not expect to see.

"How about that walk?" He held her arm to lead her to the path that wound behind the buildings and to the pond.

They walked in silence, both of them thinking about their own dilemmas. Uryū was thinking over the conversation he had with his father just that morning in which the man threatened to fire him if he did not meet the budget to cover the bills his department had ensured to pay. Riko was sorting through her always conflicting feelings about her sister; she loved Mai and wanted nothing more than to believe that her sister would be a good, responsible mother but the past did not make that prospect very realistic. Both tortured souls stopped to listen to the pattering water from the fountain that sprayed up from the middle of the pond. Standing side by side, they soaked in the tranquility of the oasis stuck in the middle of the city. Tall shrubs and trees created a thick barrier to shield it from the noise of traffic and the sight of the buildings just on the other side. This area had been designed to allow the family members of patients to find a refuge outside to escape the hospital in order to regroup. They both needed that right now as well.

Riko edged closer to the pond, testing the ground for dampness after kicking off her high-heeled shoes. Deeming the ground safe for sitting, she dropped to her knees and rolled onto her behind.

"There's koi in there," Uryū told her for no apparent reason other than to break the silence. "We even have an employee who comes out here daily to feed the stupid fish and ducks. My father spared no expense."

"You don't like your father very much do you?" she asked without turning around to look at him. The acidic tone with which he had stated that last comment had made his feelings obvious. She hugged her knees to her chest before adding, "That's okay. I don't like mine much either."

"How about lunch? My treat," he offered, smiling when she turned her head to look at him.

"Sure." She smiled back, holding up her hand in a wordless request for assistance.

Uryū took her hand, pulling her to her feet. He continued to hold it to help her maintain her balance while she slipped her feet into her shoes. After learning a little more about her, he was quite confident that he had made the right choice for an assistant.

~...~

"How was your first day?" Ichigo asked without a perfunctory hello. He knew it was Riko calling, and he knew why she was calling.

"Is it your girlfriend?" Renji mused from the passenger's seat of the unmarked police cruiser. He instantly received a punch in the arm from his partner behind the wheel. They were stuck doing surveillance at a suspected drug dealer's home.

"It was great" she squeaked excitedly. "My new boss is wonderful. I thought he was going to be a bit of a pain in the ass at first. He seemed like such a jerk. I think I'm really going to like my job. His name is Uryū Ishida and - "

"Wait," Ichigo interrupted after almost dropping the phone. "His name is what?"

"Uryū Ishida, he's - "

"I know who he is," Ichigo snarled into the phone. How in the world did she wander into this job? With _him _of all people? Deciding to keep his mouth shut, he deemed it the lesser of two evils when compared to the hostess job. At least Uryū was a tight assed, straight-laced, by the letter businessman. He doubted the iceberg of a man had it within him to be a lecherous creep.

"How do you know him?" Riko chewed her lip, waiting for the answer with bated breath. She wondered if he was going to find something wrong with every job she managed to get. Who the hell was he to try to dictate her life? He was only her _friend_ as he liked to remind her just too damn often. She bit into her lip from the instant surge of anger, cursing under her breath.

"We went to high school together. Our fathers knew each other. There's a little bit of history between all of us that I'd rather not get into. Maybe another time," he muttered, attempting to keep his anger in check. It was not her fault that she had touched upon a very sore spot emotionally. She had no idea about anything that had transpired in the past. "So when would you like to go celebrate?"

"Celebrate?" Riko queried, shocked not only by the question but his ever-changing attitude as well.

"Yeah, the new job. I believe a nice dinner out would be in order," he offered, punching Renji again when he heard a girlish giggle from the man. "That's just freaky and weird, don't do that," he hissed at his partner.

Renji lost the battle of trying to keep a straight face and grinned stupidly at the incensed man despite the danger of physical retribution. He had often accused him of being an idiot but who was being the idiot now? Ichigo was already in love with that woman who was absolutely crazy about him. Sadly, the man suffered chronic emotional constipation which made him blind and stupid to that fact.

"Sure. That would be great. You tell me when." She was doing a little happy dance in her living room, ecstatic that he had asked her out again.

"Friday night?" His attention was momentarily pulled to the house they were supposed to be observing as a car parked on the curb in front of it.

"Oh, definitely," she accepted, resisting the urge to squeal in giddy excitement. She would explore the whole underlying and unspoken issue of what bad blood lies between him and her boss then. Saturday could be spent with her sister. Sunday she could be a lazy slug to rest for the upcoming week. Somehow she had the feeling she was going to need it. Her weekend was looking pretty darn good.

"Friday it is. I'll talk to you later. I've got to go since I'm at work," he said, watching a man and a woman exit the expensive luxury vehicle that did not belong in this neighborhood. The couple looked as expensive as the car. Customers? Apparently even the rich and fabulous needed their fixes too.

"Okay. Talk to you later." And she hung up.

"You do know you're dating her don't you?" Renji informed him, receiving another punch in the arm for the revelation.

"We're friends. We're spending time together," Ichigo countered, watching the people as they made their way down the sidewalk.

"Okay. We'll go with that. Whatever makes you feel better."

"Just shut up and watch. We're supposed to be working, you know. We've got to figure out who the big boss is of this operation." He stared at the couple waiting on the front porch dressed in a tux and evening gown appearing as if they had just come from some high society event. Was it possible that those two people could be the owners of the big operation and they were visiting one of their dealers?

"Where are you taking your girlfriend Friday night?" Renji inquired, barging into his friend's thoughts instead of concentrating on his job.

"She is not my - " Ichigo sighed in frustration, closing his eyes momentarily. Why bother saying it? "I don't know where I'm taking her. I am too busy trying to do my job. Why don't you try it?"

"Where's the fun in that, man?" The redhead instantly became interested in the task at hand when a tall, muscular man with blue hair stepped out onto the porch. "Is that who I think it is?"

The lighter in the man's hand burst into life, illuminating his feral face momentarily but in great detail, when he lit his cigarette. Grimmjow Jaeggerjacques: drug dealer to the rich and famous, purveyor of designer drugs, and owner of a multi-million dollar empire.

"Damn...it's him. He's the one we want," Ichigo mumbled, leaning forward as if the few inches would make his view that much clearer. Every muscle in his body had coiled tightly because he was ready to jump into action, making him feel as if a full body cramp had seized him.

"Whoa there, Sparky," Renji warned him, pushing him back against the seat. "We're only to observe, not apprehend. We've got to gather evidence on this asshole so we can take him down and keep him in jail."

"Hell, he probably knows the laws better than we do. That damn lawyer of his has found every loophole and even created a few," he furiously growled, punching the steering wheel. They had been after this guy for years but had never been able to make the charges stick thanks to his slippery lawyer Szayelaporro Granz.

"Yeah, well, patience my friend. We have to take our time getting this guy to make it permanent," the equally angry redhead reminded him.

They continued seething in silence glaring at the man casually smoking the cigarette on the porch of the quaint single level home stuck in the middle of an unassuming suburban neighborhood. To think families complete with children and a family dog roamed these sidewalks during the day never knowing of the danger lurking among them. At night the criminal element invaded in a manner so subtle they never even noticed.

"Why don't you invite her over to your house again?" Renji suggested without taking his eyes off of the target.

"Would you shut up?" Ichigo grumped. Actually that did not sound like a bad idea. Or maybe he could go to her apartment again. When he thought about his last wake up call at her place, he smiled. That might be a great idea. What new things would he learn about her this time?


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you so much to my absolutely fantastic beta, xfang-girl. she helped me improve this chapter tremendously by telling me what I needed to hear. And I am grateful for her keen eye in spotting my typos and grammatical errors!

* * *

Riko dragged herself into her apartment at promptly seven on Friday evening. Dropping onto her couch, she fell over to bury her face in the soft, cool leather. Damn that beanpole with boundless energy and more things for her to do than could be accomplished by ten people. She had spent the last week doing damage control by cleaning up messes created by his last administrative assistant. Retyping documents, sending out letters of apology, making phone calls to repair mucked up communication lines between benefactors and her boss had dominated her time from eight in the morning to eight or nine every night. At least he did take her to lunch when he allowed a break during the day and order in dinner on the late nights. Thankfully, the reprisals for past wrongs committed by the former assistant had been completed by the end of today so new projects could be started next week. At the present time, she was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Riko groaned miserably, indulging in a pity party induced by exhaustion. Before her self-pity could be sufficiently wallowed in to produce a cathartic effect, her phone chirped.

"Hello?" she moaned, not bothering to put on a fake smile or upbeat tone. After all, it was Ichigo her best friend calling and as a friend he was supposed to listen to her misery and whining.

"Are you okay?" he asked, barely stifling a chuckle because of her dramatics.

"No," she whined petulantly, letting him have it with both bellyaching barrels.

"Still want to go out?"

"No."

"Want to stay in? I'll bring beer and pizza," he offered, hearing her noisy and pitiful sigh. He had never heard her be so grouchy and so irritable. That was usually his role.

"That sounds great. Bring me something chocolate, please," she begged shamelessly.

"How could I resist that?" he groused, rolling his eyes.

"How long will it be? I've got to take a shower," she said, forcing herself up from the couch.

"You have thirty minutes. Use them wisely," he advised her, hanging up the phone.

"God, have you ever heard of saying bye!" she yelled at the phone before tossing it onto the coffee table. "You have thirty minutes...use them wisely," she mocked, shedding her clothes as she walked to the bathroom.

Riko turned the faucet handle all the way over to hot. She needed to wash away the stress and tiredness. Stepping under the steaming spray, she sighed with satisfaction as the heat warmed her skin and soaked into her muscles. Her mind wandered a bit and she tried to picture what Ichigo must look like without a shirt. She had felt the hard muscles beneath his shirts so she knew he had to be pretty well-built. Forming a fabulously detailed picture of him in her mind, she took her time soaping her body with her favorite pink grapefruit scented body wash. It was supposed to invigorate her. Something was revving her up at the moment but it had more to due with another kind of citrus fruit, the color of it anyway. Lost in her x-rated musings, she lost track of time. She heard the banging on her door when she was just rinsing her hair.

"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed, shutting off the water. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped it around her to thoughtlessly rush to the door. In her panic, it never occurred to her that she should get dressed first.

Ichigo was just about to knock again when the door was flung open. With his hand in mid-air, he stood frozen as he stared at the soaking wet Riko in a towel. His eyes widened and traveled down her body from her drenched hair to her feet where water pooled on the hardwood. Being a man it was impossible to stop his eyes from lingering on the nicely rounded projections between which her hand gripped the purple towel. He also noticed the towel opened up slightly at the bottom revealing that there was no carpet to match the drapes. "Holy shit, Riko," he gasped, unable to stop staring at her.

"Uhm..why don't you come in...," she murmured, pulling the towel closed at the bottom with her other hand. Backing away slowly and hoping she did not faint from shame, she told him, "You can put the beer in the refrigerator and the pizza on the table."

"I brought you a chocolate cake with fudge icing," he returned, forcing his eyes to stay on her face that was so red it was purple. He was pretty sure his face would be red if every drop of blood in his body had not surged in a southerly direction.

"Okay. Just put it in the kitchen. I'm going to get dressed." Riko spun on her heel and virtually ran to the bedroom. Ripping off the towel after slamming her bedroom door, she roughly dried her hair while crossing the room to her white wicker chest of drawers. Tossing the towel aside, she quickly pulled on her underwear then a dowdy pair of gray capri sweatpants and a white tank top over which she threw an oversized gray t-shirt.

Ichigo was standing in the kitchen attempting to compose himself before he walked back into the living room. He heard the door to her bedroom open and shoved the cake in the refrigerator before grabbing two beers and the pizza box. As an after thought, he backed up to snatch the roll of paper towels from the metal stand on the counter before proceeding to the couch.

Riko offered him a tremulous smile while avoiding his eyes. She sat down on the couch, gluing herself to the arm to put as much distance as possible between the two of them. Humiliation made her whole body hot and she gratefully snatched the beer out of his hand when he silently held it out to her. Once she had downed the whole thing, she was able to find her voice.

"So what movie do you want to watch?" she asked, standing up to walk the short distance to the kitchen.

"I'm not sure. Preferably nothing with nudity in it," he requested, hearing her begin coughing in the kitchen. "I think I've already seen enough tonight."

Riko ignored the comment, but could not stop the heat of embarrassment from enveloping her body again. While standing in front of the open refrigerator to cool off, she downed her second beer. Once her body was cooled off and the buzz had begun to slough off the degradation of the shocking moment earlier, she took the third frosty bottle and returned to the living room.

"Rough week?" Ichigo stood up to rifle through her movie collection. The action was more to put a little distance between himself and the woman who had sat beside him than to actually find something to watch. The picture of her inadvertent flash kept replaying in his mind and being close to her made him want to give into the urge to seize her and crush his mouth against hers. That kiss would only be the first of many things he wanted to do to her at this given time.

"Yeah," she responded, her body feeling heavy and relaxed from the alcohol. Turning to stretch her legs out on the couch, she watched him as he picked a movie and inserted it into the player. "That Uryū is a real workaholic. He's relentless. I feel like a horse that's been rode long and hard. He stayed on my ass all week."

"Figuratively speaking, right?" He received a scathing glare for that remark. Her reckless choice of words had conjured up a less than enjoyable mental image of his pretty best friend and Uryū together going at it like bunnies. The thought had shocked him in several ways, including the fact it had stirred up a deep-seated jealousy that he had not anticipated.

"So how do you know him?" Riko asked, moving from one uncomfortable subject to another.

Ichigo sat down on the other end of the couch, swinging his long legs onto the cushions to lay them next to hers. He smiled when he saw her jump from the contact of the rough material of his jeans against her bare legs. "We were friends in high school."

"What happened after that?" She wanted to know more and was not going to let him get away with being tight-lipped tonight.

"We went our separate ways. He went to university, I went to police academy. We just lost touch," he said with a shrug, guzzling the rest of his beer.

"What else?" she pushed, ignoring his lethal glare. Leaning forward, she put her hand on his thigh feeling the muscle tighten beneath her palm. "There's more to this. Tell me."

Ichigo took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself to tell her. He wished she would move her hand because he was already finding it difficult enough to find the words to tell her the awful truth of what happened. Leaning his head back to look at the ceiling, he began speaking. Hopefully rehashing the past would quench the desire building within him.

"Ryūken Ishida was supposed to be my mother's husband," he began, wishing he had grabbed another beer. "They had been betrothed to each due to family status or bonds or some stupid crap. I'm not sure and I don't really care what it was. She met my father in college and they fell in love. She broke the betrothal agreement. Since my father stole her away and married her, there was quite a bit of animosity between him and Ryūken. Because of that, Uryū's father forbade us to be friends."

"That's terrible. So childish. That had nothing to do with the two of you!" Riko blurted angrily, getting up to go to the kitchen. This revelation required another beer for each of them. Of course, any reason would do right now. She was still trying to get over being an accidental flasher. Taking out two cold beers, she rolled one across her face while she walked back to the living room. Thank goodness he had brought a twelve bottle box. After handing one to him, she pushed his feet off the couch so she could sit next to him.

"You're hot...I, uh, um, are you hot?" Ichigo corrected himself, turning red to the tips of his ears. Freudian slip. He swiftly twisted off the cap and began drinking the beer.

"Just a little," she replied, using the hem of her shirt to take of her beer cap. _Oh, my God! He's drunk off his ass already! Did he drink before he got here?, _she wondered, gulping her beer as she stared at the television screen to avoid looking at him. He was just too damn cute when he blushed.

"We ignored his father and remained friends until that damn man beat the hell out of Uryū one night. I refused to talk to Uryū after that. I was afraid his father would kill him if I didn't," he said, taking a long draw of the beer until half of it was gone. "It was the only way I felt I could protect him." While finishing the beer, he stood up to go to the kitchen. Getting another beer for himself, he also took out the cake. Once he had gotten a fork, he returned to the living room in hopes of distracting her with his gift of chocolate so she would not ask anymore questions. So what if she had not eaten her dinner? She was not five years old and had grown up quite nicely.

Riko did not even look at the cake he sat on the coffee table directly in front of her. She kept her eyes on him, studying his every move as he folded his long limbs into a sitting position next to her. Sliding along the smooth leather, the potent buzz she was enjoying had demolished her inhibitions. What was the big deal about sitting close to him? She had done this many nights at the club without a second thought. However, since they were not at the club, should she have the temptation to kiss him, she could give into it. Then again, she would not want to cause him to have a heart attack by doing such a thing as kissing him. Her fingers drifted across his cheek in a gentle attempt to gain his attention. When this did not work, she grew bold, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. Maybe he could survive that. Her lips grazed the outer rim of his ear when she whispered, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"There's more," he told her, feeling the need to continue so he would not turn his face and plant his lips on hers. The very thought shocked him and made him feel light headed. Or perhaps that was the beer. "My wife to be left me standing at the altar. A week later I received a picture in the mail. It was of her, happy as she could be in the arms of..." Ichigo paused, emptying the bottle in a few big gulps.

Riko steeled herself, fully expecting him to say in the arms of Uryū. Her fingers interlaced with the fingers of his hand draped across his knee. She waited patiently for him to speak, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Of his father, Ryūken." He was pushed over the overstuffed arm of the couch when she punched him in the arm.

"Get the fuck out!" she screamed in horrified surprise. Uryū's _Father_ seduced Ichigo's wife? What the hell was _she_ thinking?

"Such a dirty mouth," he chuckled, unable to contain it as he looked at her startled face.

"That was unexpected to say the least. I thought for sure you were going to say Uryū." She leaned to the side, stabbing the cake with the fork.

"Uryū?" He broke into gales of laughter at the thought of the skinny nerd being a seductive Don Juan type.

"Oh, come on. Don't be so mean. His personality could use a little work but he isn't that bad to look at," she admitted, shoving a forkful of the cake into her mouth.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" he asked, feeling the distinct twinge of envy deep in his gut. Suddenly the thought of Uryū seducing someone did not seem so funny if that someone was Riko. He watched her lick the chocolate icing from her lips, mimicking the action by licking his own lips.

"Is it working?" After giving him a cat-that-ate-the canary smile, she brought another big bite of cake to her mouth but he grabbed her wrist and shoved it into his own. "Hey! That was mine."

"Want it back?" He opened his mouth, poking out his tongue at her to show her the prechewed mush.

"Oh, you're so gross!" she shrieked, her face twisting with disgust. She dug her fingers into the cake, seizing a squishy handful.

"You wouldn't dare." His eyes narrowed threateningly as she brought her hand close to his face.

"Yes, I would." She shoved the hunk of cake against his closed lips, smearing the gooey icing all over his face.

"Okay, that is it!" he yelled, pushing her over onto her back. Straddling her waist, he held her down as he sunk both of his hands into the cake.

"No, no, NOOOO!" she cried, unwittingly giving him the opportunity to cram the delectable dessert into her mouth. Giggling protests ensued as he covered her face with the sticky sweet icing.

Ichigo was laughing uncontrollably as he looked down at her messy face. He moved off of her, pulling her to a sitting position. He followed her to the bathroom, turning on the faucet while she got two washcloths for them clean off their faces.

"That's really good cake," Riko laughed, noticing that he was staring at her in the mirror. "What?"

"You're beautiful," he murmured as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"You're so drunk," she chuckled off handedly, ignoring him to scrub the sticky goo off of her face.

"I'm not that drunk," he mumbled, rinsing out his cloth to have another swipe at his face.

"Oh? Then kiss me," she challenged him, turning to face him.

"What?" he chuckled incredulously as if he had not heard her right. He couldn't kiss her no matter how much he wanted to because they were just friends.

"You big weenie," Riko muttered, walking out of the bathroom. She was caught off guard when he jerked her around to face him, placing his lips on hers for a kiss. Unable to breathe by the shock of his lips being on hers, she pressed her palms against his chest and shoved him away. "Stop it! You're drunk and don't know what you're doing! That's just cruel, Ichigo!"

"I'm not _that_ drunk!" he bellowed, staying right on her heels as she stomped away from him. Seizing her by the arms, he twisted her around to face him again. He really wasn't that drunk. After being startled by his own actions and her subsequent rejection, he was actually quite sober at the moment. Gazing into her eyes, he could see that she appeared fairly lucid as well.

Ichigo pressed his lips together, unable to speak when he noticed the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Why the hell was she crying? This was a surreal moment for him that he had never even considered occurring in his wildest dreams - until last night. Last night on the stake out, Renji had informed him that Haineko told him Riko had quit her job at the club when the boss threatened to fire her if she did not quit seeing him. After learning the truth about her job, he had used the time to think in which he analyzed their relationship and his feelings. He had debated if she would be worth the risk of putting his heart on the line again. She had quit her job, risked her livelihood for him in addition to her heart. Why not take a chance on her in return?

"Riko, I've been thinking..." He paused, struggling to find the right words to tell her how he felt. What if she did not feel the same? Swallowing convulsively, he held her gaze and her arms to keep her from moving. "I feel...I think...I want."

"Oh, for God's sake, Ichigo," she muttered, snatching her arms out of his hands. She encircled his neck with arms, standing on her tiptoes but she still had to pull his head down to reach his lips.

Riko gently pressed her lips to his, her belly fluttering with pleasure and apprehension as she waited for his reaction. When he did not pull away and actually slid his arms around her waist, she took the initiative to deepen the kiss. Her tongue tested the small opening between his lips. Once again, only a positive reaction as his arms tightened around her. A thrill raced through her body when his lips parted and his tongue met hers. Her knees weakened from the overwhelming dizziness that crashed down on her. The fatigue, the beers, and the unbearable lightness of being that came with kissing him had taken its toll on her. At first she was disappointed when his lips moved from hers but that was only so he could sweep her up into his arms. Her head lolled against his broad chest as he took her to her bedroom. To her great satisfaction, he lay down next to her after tucking her into the bed.

"Why aren't you leaving?" she asked, snuggling into him.

"Do you want me to?" he questioned her, rolling over as if he were going to get up.

"NO!" she shrieked, grabbing onto him. She was not going to allow him to blow this opportunity for her. It was possible neither one of them would remember this in the morning, but she was enjoying it right now. Her arms moved around his neck and she pressed her body to his, taking comfort in his warmth.

"Can I kiss you good night?" Ichigo inquired, tipping her chin upward to see her face in the bluish glow of the moonlight.

"Yes," she answered, expecting a kiss on the forehead.

Ichigo lay his hand against her hip, pulling her close to him. His lips lowered to hers and he felt her whole body stiffen. He fully expected to be shoved off the bed, but instead she sighed and moved her lips against his. His fingers slid beneath the edge of her tank top, feeling her skin erupt into goose-flesh from the contact of his skin to hers. Kissing her tenderly and fervently, he felt her lips part beneath his and slid his tongue into her mouth. When she did not respond, he lifted his head. He gaped at her in stunned disbelief as she lay next him, dead asleep in slack-jawed relaxation.

"This can't be happening." He flinched away when she snored loudly in a drunken, exhausted slumber. Oh, yeah...this was happening. Had this been what it felt like for her the last several weeks, to come so close to something romantic only to be shut down and disappointed? He thought about the romantic dinner he had pushed aside, feeling a twinge of guilt twist his guts. He should have just listened to Yuzu and had the candlelit dinner with Riko. Regret needled the back of his mind relentlessly as he looked down at her face. Pecking her on the cheek, he confessed, "I'm such a dumbass. I'm sorry."

~...~

Riko awoke the next morning but did not open her eyes. Instead she chose to replay the beautiful dream in her head. Ichigo had not only kissed her, he had been in her bed. Although no sex occurred in the dream it was still so very sweet and satisfying: his gentle kiss, his strong arms around her while she slept. Sucking in a deep breath, she released it noisily allowing it to morph into a sound something like a purr. Rolling onto her side and opening her eyes, she gasped and stared in startled awe at the single red rose in a cut crystal vase. Her fingers shook as she reached out for the card sitting like a small tent in front of the vase.

Thanks for last night, babe. You were great! Possibly the best experience I've ever had. I can't wait to do it again. ~Ichigo

"Wh-what?" she stammered, her mind racing to remember. What happened last night? Had that been real? _Possibly the best experience I've ever had_. "Did we...did we have sex and I missed the whole damn thing?"

Riko snatched her phone from the nightstand and typed in a panicked text to her orange-headed friend.

Ichigo reached for his phone, missing as it rattled across his nightstand. It tried to run away again as another text arrived but he caught it before it could fall to the floor. Struggling to focus his eyes so he could read the words, he sat up in the bed. He had left Riko's apartment around midnight, leaving her in a snoring, drooling heap wrapped tightly in the covers. Since the woman was in a state that was as non threatening as possible, he had stolen a good night kiss before he left. A kiss on the cheek of course. Rather than text back, he called her.

Riko's belly quivered with apprehension and excitement when her phone rang. Before she could even say hello he was talking. She had a way of making this man talk that even he did not understand.

"You were something else last night. You made noises I've never heard any woman make," he said, barely able to stifle a laugh. The stunned silence on the other end of the phone prompted him to keep up the cruel charade. "Oh, babe...please don't tell me you don't remember. It was so good...and the things you said...it was...it was...well there are no words to describe it really."

Riko could feel the tears burning her eyeballs and she held her rolling belly in an attempt to calm it before she threw up. They had sex and she couldn't remember! How could she do something so stupid? Well, not the sex but the not remembering it! She sniffed as a lone tear rolled down her check betraying her sadness to the man on the phone with her.

"Riko? Are you crying?" he asked, his tummy performing a few flip-flops of its own. Perhaps he had pushed the joke a little too far.

"I-Ichigo, d-did we really have s-s-s-s..." Riko swallowed hard nearly choking on the lump of emotion in her throat. "Sex?"

"No...we did not have sex last night. You're fully clothed and safely cocooned in the sheets aren't you?" he pointed out rather gruffly, annoyed with himself for going to far and her as well for overlooking the obvious.

"Well, yeah...but - " Now she was confused. What exactly had happened between them then?

"Nothing happened," Ichigo assured her, his tone softer this time.

Riko sighed loudly, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed that nothing had happened. She would choose to be relieved at the moment. If they had sex, she would definitely want to remember the experience.

"But you do have some sweet lips," he said and hung up abruptly.

"Wait...what?" she mumbled, not sure she had heard him correctly. "Ichigo? Ichigo!" she yelled at the phone although he was no longer there. "Well, I'm not calling him back."

Riko wanted to call him back. She wanted to text him until it overloaded his phone, to annoy him until he told her what had really happened. But she would not. Jerk. Picking up her pillow and covering her face with it, she screamed to release her frustration with the irritating man she was completely enamored with. Inhaling the scent of him from her pillow, she struggled to remember. She had been so tired...so drunk. He was drunk too and...and what? Dammit! Maybe...possibly...at least _parts_ of that vague dream were more than a dream after all. Obviously he had lain next to her in the bed because her pillow smelled like him. She had gotten terribly drunk after all so he had taken her to the bed. Closing her eyes, she silently swore to herself to stop after the second drink from now on.

"Sweet lips," she muttered to herself, giggling that he had said something so preposterous. "That idiot."

She chided herself for being so foolish. Of course nothing had happened. Probably not even the kiss. That part had to be just a dream...didn't it?


	7. Chapter 7

I greatly appreciate the assistance and extra pair of eyes so freely offered by my lovely beta, xfang-girlx. I also just want to say I really hate Grimmjow's last name. It's a pain in the ass to spell. I know I've spelled it wrong, but oh well. This spelling is easier for me to remember.

* * *

Riko knocked softly on her sister's door at Grace Shelter, the home for single homeless mothers. She did not receive an answer so she put her ear to the door when she thought she heard a man's voice coming from inside. Confirming that there was indeed a man inside, she knocked louder and faster than the first time verging on frantically. Without waiting for her sister to answer she opened the door. Her fingers clutched the bouquet of white jasmine flowers with a stranglehold when she saw the blue haired man sitting on the bed by her sister. She glared at his hands that were pressed to Mai's eight and half months pregnant belly. Her eyes moved to his which were already on her face. She did not like him instantly. His ultramarine blue eyes held a predatory, voracious look as they leisurely traveled the full length of her body from head to toe then back again. Although she was fully clothed in jeans and a t-shirt, she suddenly felt completely naked, convinced that she had been stripped of every piece of her clothing in his dirty little imagination.

"Who's this?" the man asked, a smile separating his lips to reveal two rows of positively flawless white teeth.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Riko rejoined in a low voice, keeping her eyes on the man as he stood up to greet her.

"Grimmy, this is my sister, Riko," Mai happily and proudly announced. She reached out to her sister for a hand up as she struggled to scoot her pregnant body off the bed. She hugged her sister before she turned to the man with the blue hair and reversed the introduction. "Riko, this is Grimmjow. He the father of my baby."

"No fucking way," Riko breathed, stepping back when the man reached out to shake her hand.

"Well, yeah, that's how this little problem began isn't it?" he inquired, his voice deep and resonating. One blue eyebrow rose toward his hairline as he licked lips while holding the gaze of the shocked sister. "Fucking."

"Asshole," she growled under her breath hoping her sister had not heard it. She took a quick glimpse at his outstretched hand before returning her eyes to his face with a look of disgust on hers. Her gaze shifted back to her sister who was regarding the man like a lovesick puppy. _Oh, no, Mai. You love him._ Remembering the clueless man she loved, she realized they both had a tendency to fall in love with the wrong men. At least Ichigo was not a dangerous animal of prey - his prey being women.

"What do you do, Mr..." Riko waited for him to fill in his last name. She not feel comfortable calling him by the familiar nickname her sister had used.

"You can call me Grimmjow," he returned, shoving his hands into the pockets of his obscenely tight jeans. "I'm a private business owner."

"What kind of business?" she inquired, glowering at him skeptically. Giving him a thorough observation from his immaculately coiffed blue (blue, really?) hair down to his expensive name brand sneakers, she guessed he had a lot of money. Drug dealer? Was he the one who got Mai caught back up in the drug scene? Had he taken his pay for drugs in sex which ended in this pregnancy?

"Buying and selling," he answered with a smile on his lips. "Nothing of interest to someone like you."

Riko had not missed the condescending and warning tone in the blunt statement. She gave him a withering glare of unveiled hatred before turning on her heel to search the bookshelves in the room for a vase in which to put the flowers. She spied the ornately designed glass vase that looked like a genie bottle on the top shelf. It was the vase that she usually used to hold the bouquets she brought to her sister.

"How did it get up there?" she murmured to herself, putting her foot on the bottom shelf to reach upward.

"Let me help," the sensuous male voice sounded behind her just before he molded his body to hers.

Riko stayed still, holding her breath, as he pushed her against the shelves. Her body began to tremble as a certain uncomfortably hard part of his anatomy pressed into the small of her back while he reached upward past her grasping her fingers to retrieve the vase. She could feel the heat of a blush warming her cheeks when his hand moved around her waist to raise her from the bottom shelf and set her feet on the floor. Was Mai blind? Could she not see this man being overly flirtatious and a little too hands on with a woman he just met? And that woman being her sister?

"Here," he said, handing her the vase. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

_Why? Do you plan on doing it for me?_ she thought to herself, unwilling to return his grin that appeared decidedly carnivorous. Most women, including her sister, might fall for that million dollar smile but not her. She had already fallen for a man with a semi-permanent grumpy frown.

"I'm so glad you came today!" Mai exclaimed excitedly, burying her nose into the fragrant flowers. "I'm thrilled you got to meet, Grimmy. I've wanted you two to meet for so long."

"Where have you been? Where were you when Mai needed you?" Riko demanded angrily, ignoring the look of horror on her sister's face.

"I was out-of-town taking care of business," he replied calmly, completely unflustered by her anger. He put his arm around Mai pulling her close to him, holding her possessively. "I didn't know she was pregnant until she called me about a week ago."

Riko noticed the way her sister's eyes dropped to the floor to avoid meeting hers. She knew immediately that the man was lying, that he had most likely known all along. Perhaps it was his fault that Mai had been homeless, looking for a fix, and frightened out of her mind. Guilt overwhelmed her, making her feel nauseated. Pressing her hand to her belly, she swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. The fury welling within her overrode the remorse as her gaze shifted back to the man who was holding her sister's head against his chest, stroking her hair as if she were a favored pet.

"So now what? Prince Charming is back and he's going to take you to his castle to live happily ever after?" she growled at her sister before unleashing on the man beside her. "And you..._why_ are you back? What do you want from her? You don't strike me as the honorable, do the right thing type. She doesn't need you. She's getting her life back together. Preferably without you. Why did you have to reappear just in time to ruin it for her all over again?"

"Shut up, Riko!" Mai screamed, tears running down her face as she clung to the man.

"Grow up, Mai!" Riko hollered back, allowing her anger to wash over the brim of rationale. "This guy helped make you the disaster you became! Why do you want to be with him?"

"I love him!" her sister yelled in return, standing in front of Grimmjow as if he needed to be shielded from any verbal assault her sister hurled his way. "He apologized for doing what he did! It was my fault! I started the argument with him that made him throw me out! But he's back and he's promised to take care of me and his child."

"Oh, my god, Mai," she muttered, shaking her head and covering her eyes with her hands. How could her sister be so naive?

"Mai," Grimmjow said, giving Riko a toothy grin of triumph as if he had won the battle. He reached out to pull Mai into his arms making himself out to be her knight in shining armor to save her from the fire-breathing dragon. "Calm down, you should not get so upset."

Rko allowed her upper lip to peel back from her lips in open contempt for the man. Her resolve began to crumble when her sister's plaintive sobs met her ears. She would find a way to deal with him later.

"I just want the two people I love most in this world to get along. That's all I wanted. I want to be a happy little family," she wailed, burying her face in Grimmjow's over priced designer shirt.

Riko was surprised when the man did not flinch away, upset that her sister was destroying his pricey shirt with her tears and mascara. Her eyes held his in an unspoken challenge as he embraced the shaking, crying woman cooing soft words into her ear to comfort her. She wanted to scream at her sister that fairy tales were not true and happily ever afters did not exist, that she was being stupid and not seeing this man for the creep that he is. However, at this time, that would only serve to push her sister closer to this man and further away from her. They had been making great progress in repairing their sisterly relationship and she did not want this asshole to destroy their relationship entirely. He would probably be gone again soon after the baby was born anyway. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her pride along with her anger to ask her next question.

"Why don't we go have lunch together? We can talk calmly and rationally about things," she suggest still holding the intense gaze of the man who was holding her sister, mind, body, and soul.

"Sure. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Mai?" He kissed the top of her head, tipping up her chin so she would look at him.

"Just let me pull myself back together," Mai responded, reluctantly letting him go. She walked toward her sister, giving her a brief hug before whispering in her ear, "Thank you, Riko. Thank you so much. I love you."

Riko hugged her sister back, returning the expression of endearment. She sniffed to hold back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes as she looked at her sister. Although she wanted to tell the man to leave, to get the hell out of her sister's life, she did not want to alienate Mai. Rubbing her hand across her sister's belly, she felt the life within her stir and kick. She gasped, pressing both hands to Mai's burgeoning tummy to feel the baby again. Her eyes met her sister's as the baby kicked and pushed from within as if to touch her back. Both women began to giggle with elation before embracing each other tightly again. At that moment, she silently promised her niece or nephew that she would do whatever it took to deal with that self-centered, lecherous jerk so she could protect the both of them.

~...~

Ichigo stepped inside the cafe telling the hostess that he was meeting someone who should already be here. Yuzu had invited him to meet the family here again today. Glancing around while he was led to the table where his family sat, he saw the familiar brown head of his lovely friend Riko. His eyes skirted over to her sister and smiled. It was great to see that they were getting along so well. Then he saw something sinister, someone he had not expected to see: Grimmjow Jaeggerjacques. He stopped in his tracks, gaping at the three of them sitting together. How did this happen? Before he was over the shock, he discovered he was moving swiftly toward their table. It seemed his policeman instincts to protect had taken over and propelled him toward the table to see what was going on.

"Riko!" Ichigo called, raising his hand in a wave. He plastered on a smile wondering if it looked as fake and uncomfortable as the one on Riko's face.

"Oh! Ichigo! I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaimed, quickly rising to her feet to greet him. She pressed her lips to his cheek, whispering in his ear, "You've got to help me with this problem."

"Do you know who that is it?" he whispered back, kissing her cheek to cover it.

"No, but I have an idea. Come over later and fill me in," she returned, leaning back and forcing a smile back to her lips. She held Ichigo's hand as he stood beside her at the table waiting for introductions to begin. "Mai this is Ichigo. He's my - "

"Boyfriend!" she cried out, jumping up to hug him. No one bothered to correct her - not even the accidental boyfriend, Ichigo.

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend," he agreed, not seeing the startled expression on Riko's face as he hugged her sister. His face turned red from the unexpected show of affection from Mai as well as his unintended and surprisingly prompt self-admission to being Riko's boyfriend. He had not meant to say it; it had just come from no where and slipped out.

"Oh, he's cute, Riko!" Mai complimented, smiling at him like a Cheshire cat. She turned to grab the hand of the man sitting behind her. "This is my boyfriend and the father of my baby, Grimmjow."

Riko could see that 'oh shit!' look all over Ichigo's usually unemotional face and knew exactly how he felt because she had felt it too upon meeting the man. She grabbed his arm when his face suddenly darkened after the blue haired fiend offered a hand for shaking. Her grip on him relaxed when he simply completed the gesture and shook the proffered hand. By the expression on his face she could tell he wanted to kill the man and would be totally unapologetic about it.

"Would you like to join us for lunch?" she asked, pulling on his arm like a child when begging for something.

"I-I can't," he stammered, turning to touch her cheek with his fingertips. "I'm here to see my family."

"Oh," she mumbled, unable to hide her disappointment. She lowered her eyes to the ground to hide her tears. That man frightened her and she wanted Ichigo to be near her.

"Come meet them," he suggested, taking her by the hand to pull her toward the table where his family was waiting.

"O-okay," she stuttered, clutching his hand tightly.

"Dammit...I wish I could stay with you right now, I really do. Be careful," he warned her as they slowly made their way to his family who were staring at them. "Grimmjow is a very dangerous man. He's exactly the kind of man I'm sure you are thinking he is...and worse."

"You're scaring me. Stop it," she hissed, pushing her lips up into a smile when his father rose from his seat as they neared the table. "Tell me one thing...is he a drug dealer?"

"Yes. We've been after him for years," Ichigo told her, releasing her hand to pull her in front of him. "Dad, Yuzu, Karin...this is my - " He hesitated, looking down at her briefly. "Girlfriend, Riko."

"Oh, son, I'm so proud," Isshin gushed, his dark eyes brimming with tears. He reached out to grab Riko, pulling her into his arms so he could smash her against his broad muscular chest.

"So pleased to meet you, Mr. Kurosaki," she wheezed unable to breathe since she was held in a firm bear hug by the big man. If the big man was not squeezing the life out of her, she could honestly say that being hugged by him was not entirely unpleasant.

"Oh, sweetie, you have no idea how happy I am to meet you," he said, letting her go finally.

Riko pulled in a breath making a loud sucking sound while the wonderful, life-giving oxygen filled her starving lungs. "I have an idea of your degree of happiness."

"I'm Yuzu," the young woman with the honey brown hair and gentle brown eyes said, holding out a dainty little hand.

Riko took it for a polite shake while offering her a genuine smile. Her gaze shifted to the dark-haired sister who only nodded and introduced herself plainly as Karin.

"Why don't you join us?" his father eagerly requested, snatching a chair from a nearby table.

"Oh, I can't. I would love to but I'm here with my sister and her uh - " She looked to Ichigo for help with a title for the other man.

"Baby daddy," he offered with a wry smile.

"Ichigo!" she snapped, feeling her face grow warm with a blush.

"Awwww," Isshin moaned with disappointment, plopping back down into his chair. It was as if he had not even heard the derogatory term for the other man because he was too busy stewing in his moment of discontent. He had hoped to discuss wedding plans with his future daughter-in-law. Ichigo would say he was jumping the gun. He would say that girl's bones were perfect for jumping. With a sad sigh, he reminded himself that the boy probably had not even made it to first base yet and a home run would be a future destination that might or might not be visited.

"Bring her over for dinner on family night," Yuzu said which perked her dad back up.

"Oh, yes, that's great! I assume she is going to be part of the family after all." His father looked at his son with a hopeful expression.

"Dad!" Ichigo exclaimed. "We just started dating and - "

"We did?" Riko queried, receiving a rather scathing look from her reluctant boyfriend.

"We did," he informed her bluntly not realizing he had just made her the happiest person on earth besides his father. He had also just declared their relationship status. It was unclear if this proclamation of being a couple had been made under duress or as a spoken wish of the heart. As much fun as he was having getting himself in deep with his family and accidentally (maybe on purpose) into a relationship, it was time for her to be getting back to her sister. "Don't you have a lunch date of your own?" he reminded her, raising an eyebrow and jerking his head in the direction of where Mai and Grimmjow sat.

"You're right. See you later?" She chewed her lower lip as she waited for his answer.

"Yes," he answered, leaning down to brush his lips across her cheek. "I still remember how your lips felt on mine. I'll remind you later what it feels like to kiss me since you've forgotten."

Riko felt dizzy and hot from the sudden rush of blood to her face. Her feet were like lead as she schlepped back to her table. She wanted to stay with Ichigo, to bask in the glory of finally reaching girlfriendhood even it was due to several misunderstandings on the part of their loved ones. And he threatened to kiss her. Would he follow through? Maybe so. A smile curved her lips upward as she took her seat at the table. Looking across the table into a set of ravenous aquamarine blue eyes belonging to a very unwelcome man could not even remove the smile from her face.

"So your boyfriend's a cop?" he asked, finishing off his beer.

"Yeah. And?" she demanded, taking a sip of her ice water to dampen her suddenly parched throat.

"Meeting you just got a lot more interesting. I think I'm going to like being a part of this family." He winked at her after gazing into her eyes for a moment.

WHAT?! What the hell did he mean by that?


	8. Chapter 8

Time for me to say thank you to my beta xfang-girlx. I appreciate her offering her honest opinions, helpful advice, and willingly reading my chapters to catch my typos. Thanks a ton for all you do!

I also want to say thank you to all of my reviewers. Your reviews really do mean a lot to me. I am grateful that you not only take the time to read my stories, but also give me feedback on them. Thanks to all of you! :D

* * *

Riko had just dried her tears from her last crying bout when Ichigo knocked on the door. She rushed to open it, flinging herself against his chest with abandon. The dam holding back her tears broke again as she buried her face into his shirt while wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. If she had not been sobbing so intensely, she would have sighed with joy to be in his arms. Instead she was panicked and generally freaking out because of what had occurred once she and her sister had returned to Grace Shelter.

Ichigo held her securely in his arms as he carefully steered her backwards into the apartment. He kissed the top of her head, kicking the door closed behind him with his foot so he would not have to release his hold on her. He wanted to ask what had happened to make her so upset, but he doubted she would be able to tell him at this time she was crying so vehemently. Already having a good idea that it involved her sister and Grimmjow, he waited patiently allowing her to cry until she was able to contain herself.

Riko took comfort in his strong arms around her. Her fingers clenched and unclenched his shirt as she poured out her anger and fear. After informing her that he was taking Mai home to live with him, that he was going to take care of her, that nefarious and frightening man named Grimmjow had proceeded to pack her belongings. Out-and-out despair was the only thing that had prevented Riko from being able to say anything to him. She was afraid if she said anything disparaging about the man to her sister, Mai would cut off all contact with her. Watching him take her sister away from the shelter had filled her with such panic, she thought she was going to die on the spot. She felt helpless do a thing to help her sister, and she feared for Mai and the baby's lives.

"Wh-what if h-he g-gets h-her b-back on dr-drugs?" Riko stammered, sucking in loud gulps of air between each stuttered word. "Wh-what if h-he h-hurts M-Mai? Oh, the baby! Wh-what will h-he do to the b-baby?"

"Riko, stop talking," Ichigo told her gently, stroking her hair. "I can't understand anything you're saying and you're not making sense. Calm down and then tell me what happened."

Riko pulled away from him, stumbling toward the kitchen, blinded by her tears. She snatched a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water straight from the tap. Swallowing the water like she had been wandering in the desert for days, small rivulets trickled out of the sides of her mouth and down her neck to soak her sweatshirt.

"Riko, my God, please calm down," he begged her, picking up the dish towel to attempt to dry her shirt. Sighing with frustration, he impatiently ordered her, "Go change your shirt and wash your face. I need you to tell me what's going on."

"I'm not a child!" she yelled, throwing the glass into the sink with such force it shattered. Ignoring the fact she had broken the glass, she glared at him and hollered, "I'm scared okay! I'm scared out of my mind and don't know what to do! I realize now I was better off never knowing what trouble Mai had gotten herself into."

"Riko, I'm sorry," he murmured, taking her into his arms. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then one to her temple. Slowly he worked his way down to her lips. "Ready for that reminder?"

"Are you always going to ask permission before you kiss me?" she inquired, her heart beating faster as his hands slid around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. Her eyes were already closed and her lips tingled with anticipation of the promised kiss.

"I might. It's only polite and - " His words were cut off when she raised up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.

Riko clutched his waist, pressing her body to his. Her fingers slid up his back, over the super soft cotton fabric of his t-shirt while his lips gently moved across hers. As much as she was savoring the sweet innocent kiss, she wanted more. Parting her lips, she waited to see if he would accept the invitation. If not, she would take the initiative to deepen the kiss. Delighted that sometimes the man could take a hint, she sighed when his tongue tested the small separation between her lips. Opening wider to welcome his searching tongue further into her mouth, she grasped his broad shoulders feeling the muscles move under her palms. Pushing herself up higher on her toes to press her mouth harder to his, she encouraged him a bit by nudging his tongue with hers. The butterflies of elation took flight when his tongue gradually slid into her mouth, brushing across hers in a languid, sensual dance. Arousal made her belly tighten and the space between her legs grow warm. Moaning low in her throat, she relished every sensation he evoked within her as he gingerly probed her mouth with that fantastically stimulating tongue of his. She could not help but contemplate what other remarkable sensations he could stir up if that tongue was applied to other parts of her body.

Ichigo felt a distinct ache form below his waist. It quickly turned painful as his swollen manhood strained against the tight material of his jeans. He shuffled his feet in an attempt to alleviate the agony but the movement only brought him more torture when his hardness scraped across her belly. When her body shuddered in his arms, he instantly jerked his mouth away from hers. Now was not the time to have sex with her. It was only supposed to be a kiss. If he had sex with her tonight, he would only be taking advantage of her emotional weakness.

"Ichigo? Why'd you stop?" she questioned him, her breath coming in shaky gasps.

"Do you remember now?" he asked, panting slightly himself as he struggled to gain control of his body.

"Remind me one more time," she implored him, pressing her lips to his.

"Riko," he murmured, hesitantly removing his lips from hers after a brief kiss. Leaning his forehead against hers, he held her face in his hands while he continued to battle the strong sexual desires of his body. "Tell me what happened. You're too..." He stopped talking as she inadvertently moved against his hard member making a quick shot of pleasure rush through his body. The pleasure was immediately replaced by the intense and painful ache of lust. "You're too upset for anything else right now."

"All right," she sighed with disappointment, sliding from between him and the counter. She decided to take his advice to rinse off her face and change her shirt. A cold shower would be great but cold water splashed on her face would have to do.

Ichigo distracted himself by picking the large hunks of glass out of the sink before folding together several paper towels to scoop out the smaller pieces. Once the mess was cleaned up, he went to the living room to sit on the couch. Closing his eyes and sinking into the cushy comfortable leather, he allowed all sorts of random, purposely boring, and unstimulating thoughts to run through his mind to curb any further sexual cravings.

Riko emerged from her bedroom dressed in another fashion nightmare of drab gray but this time it was a baggy t-shirt. She sat down beside Ichigo, ignoring the amused smile on his face. Allowing her head to drop over onto his shoulder, she stared straight ahead at the blank screen of the television. She leaned forward when she felt him edging an arm behind her to put it around her shoulders.

"So tell me," he encouraged her, hugging her to his side affectionately.

"Grimmjow took her home to live with him. He said he's going to take care of her and his baby," she muttered, turning slightly to put her arms around his neck.

"Oh...now your freaking out makes sense," he said, receiving a playful jab to the ribs. "Ow!"

"You're so damn mean," she chuckled, resisting the urge to sigh like a lovesick little girl when he tightened his arm around her. Suddenly her demeanor grew very serious as she shored up the courage to ask the next question. "What about us?"

"What about us?" he repeated nervously, taking a deep breath.

"So are we still just friends? Or did you mean what you said today?" she inquired, feeling as if she might throw up. She was not sure if she wanted to hear this answer.

"Riko, I like you, I really do but..." He paused as his mind searched for the right words.

"It's okay. I understand," she rejoined, forcing herself up from the couch. She hurried toward her bedroom wanting to hide from him before she fell apart.

"Wait," he called, launching himself off of the couch to grab her. Damn, she could move fast when she wanted to. "Wait! Let me finish! Stop!"

Riko ignored him, turning the brass knob to open her bedroom door. She halted when she felt his fingers around her wrist. Her body trembled and tears threatened to fall again. She had thought there were no tears left but her body proved her wrong. Keeping her teary eyes on the floor, she turned toward him. She reluctantly raised her head to look at him when the soft pressure of his fingers under her chin tilted up her face.

"Listen to me," he said in a low voice, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Are you sure you want to be my girlfriend? You need to think about all of the messy things that are going to come along with being involved with a cop. The weird hours, my being called out at a moment's notice, the danger I will be in. You could even find yourself in danger because of my job. Not to mention the possibility I might not come home..." He stopped talking when the tears glistened in the corners of her eyes.

"Are you trying to talk me out of this? If you are, you're doing a fantastic job," she snapped, pushing his hand away from her chin. Her eyes continued to hold his captive as fear turned to anger. "Ichigo, for God's sake, can't you just take a chance for once in your life? Take a risk without worrying about the consequences? I know you've had your heart-broken, but who hasn't, you selfish bastard?"

Ichigo blinked, completely unsure how to feel about her harsh words. Should he be furious or simply consider them? He took her by the shoulders, debating whether he wanted shake her or hug her. "I'm a cop. I can't afford to take risks. And after what happened to my mother, I..."

"On both accounts that should make you more willing to grasp at every bit of happiness that comes your way. I love you, you moron! I have for months. I've kept quiet, waiting, wondering how you felt about me. I think you love me too, stupid," she tearfully said, twisting her fingers into his shirt. "I know you love your mother and miss her terribly. Don't you think your Dad does too? What if he had been too afraid to love her? To take a chance on her because she was supposed to marry another man. Imagine how terrifying that had to be for the both of them...to go against their families for something that could have ended in divorce. But instead it was a marvelous, love filled marriage. And it resulted in you and your two beautiful sisters. Yes, their love story ended way too soon but at least they had their love story because they did not let fear or precaution or...or...whatever...stop them."

"Riko," he murmured, pulling her into his arms. What she was saying was ripping at his heart, breaking down his defenses. "All right then. Be my girlfriend. You can't say you weren't warned."

"Oh, it can't be that bad can it? Besides, you should feel pretty lucky that you have me," she said with mock over confidence. She slid her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers for a short but passionate kiss. "And there are certain benefits I'm sure we will both enjoy." Giving him another peck on the lips, she slipped from his arms before he could get a good grasp on her and really kiss her like he meant it. "But those will have to wait a while."

"Are you serious?" he asked, turning to follow her to the living room that was just a few steps away.

"Yeah. I want to be sure you won't bolt like a scared rabbit from the whole relationship thing before I give you every part of me." She squealed in surprise when he suddenly yanked her by the hand back into his arms.

"How do I know you won't run?" He studied her face briefly before lowering his lips to hers. His lips coaxed hers apart so he could give her mouth another arousing probe with his tongue.

"You're just being a tease," she protested, pushing him away with her hands splayed over his chest. His pectorals rippled under her fingers so she asked, "Can I take off your shirt?"

"Wh-what?" he stammered, taken aback by her brazenness.

"Please...I want to see," she begged, tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

"No, you pervert," Ichigo laughed, pushing her hands away. "Besides, you just said that stuff will have to wait."

"Come on! Just a peek," she pleaded, jerking up his shirt to reveal his chest. Her eyes greedily roved over the golden-colored flesh that was solid and extremely defined, even to the small muscles at the outer edges of his ribcage. "Oh, my God...you're amazing."

"Thank you," he muttered, blushing hotly. He snatched the shirt out of her hands and pulled it over his head. If she wanted to see him then he was going to let her look all she wanted. He hissed in shock from her cool hands pressing against his hot skin before they began sliding downward. He had not anticipated that reaction from her. "Riko! You really are a pervert."

"Oh, stop being such a girl," she chided him, gliding her hands over his abdominal muscles. "I'm just...curious. Damn, you're incredible."

"You're going to make my ego explode," he snapped thinking that was the least of his worries of things that could explode. He was not sure if it was intentional, but she was teasing him in the cruelest of ways. Seizing her wrists, he pulled her exploring fingertips away from his skin. "I am still human...and a man...you know."

"You finally admitted it. The first step to healing is admitting your weaknesses. I'm proud of you, dear," she sarcastically sniped at him, studying each ripple of toned muscle with her eyes since he held her hands away from him.

"You're such a funny girl. Hahaha," he rejoined with equal contempt.

"So now that we've officially established that you're my boyfriend - "

"Yeah, I'm glad we got that out of the way or I'd feel so violated," he muttered grouchily.

"Anyway, as I was saying...since you're my boyfriend, you will be going to dinner with me at Grimmjow's house on Friday night."

"I'll be going where for what?" Him going to that man's house for dinner would be like entering a lion's den wearing a meat necklace.

Riko gazed into his surprise widened chocolate brown eyes that were drilling into hers. "Please, Ichigo, I need you."

How could he possibly say no to that?

~...~

"Good morning, Mr. Ishida!" Riko exclaimed, sliding into his office at ten after eight the next morning. She handed him his favorite vanilla latte hoping he would not notice her tardiness.

"You're late," Uryū muttered, gratefully taking the paper cup full of frothy caffeinated goodness from her.

"Yes, sir, I know. I apologize for that," she sighed, sounding more pleased than apologetic. She was late because her new boyfriend had spent the night. They had not had sex but had laid in bed talking until the wee hours of the morning. She had awakened in his arms after a short but satisfying night's sleep. Daring to indulge in hitting the snooze button three times to keep from having to leave the comfort of his embrace, afterwards she had rushed around her apartment in a desperate hurry to get ready.

"Did you bring me anything else?" he asked, forcing his mouth down into a frown when she whirled around to glare at him with gape mouthed shock. He was grateful for the wheels on his chair since he able to push back quickly to put some distance between them after she stalked back around his desk coming straight at him.

Riko noisily slammed her armful of notebooks, ledgers, and thick stack of papers down on his desk. She had been hiding the box full of scones she had purchased with their coffees. She was going to give the impatient ass his pastry after she dropped off the load of paperwork in her office. Taking out a blueberry scone, she carefully placed it on one of the napkins that had been beneath the box. Extending the gift to him, held on her on flattened palms, she bowed her head in mock subservience, declaring in a loud voice, "Oh, my master, my slave driver, my...whatever...here is your morning scone!"

Uryū began to chuckle unable to withhold his delight from her overacting. Her intended insult had tickled his funny bone because of her antics that had gone along with it. "Thank you...I think."

Riko offered him a nervous smile. She was not sure what to think about her boss's sudden display of a personality. He had informed her himself that he had no sense of humor. "You're a liar."

"What?" he wheezed while choking on his scone. He was startled by her bluntness although it really should not be a surprise to him any longer. After working with her so closely over the last week, he had been exposed to many bouts of necessary sarcasm and just plain rudeness from her whether it was directed at him or a particularly cantankerous client.

"You said that you didn't have a sense of humor. You do indeed have one that you're hiding for some reason. If you ask me, it seems like you have quite a good sense of humor as well," she returned, taking a raspberry white chocolate scone before grabbing her coffee to retreat to the other side of the desk.

"I didn't ask you Miss Shirane...but thank you," he added before she could get completely offended. "We have a busy day ahead of us - "

"Don't we always?" she interrupted, burying her nose in her cup to avoid his brutal glare from behind his glasses which he compulsively straightened especially when annoyed - like right now.

"As I was saying," he grumbled irritably, clearing his throat. "We have several patients we need to visit to complete their applications. You also have a private appointment concerning your sister today."

"My sister? Wouldn't that be considered a conflict of interest for me?" she inquired, coughing to clear the coffee from her lungs after she had accidentally inhaled it when her sister was mentioned.

"It's her boyfriend who has the appointment actually," he responded, noticing her face turned white instantly.

"Her boyfriend?" She no longer wanted to eat the delectable scone that she had been looking forward to demolishing.

"He called this morning and asked for you personally. He's coming by at eleven to speak with you," he informed her, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"Alone?" She gulped, sitting her coffee down on his desk in front of her. She did not see that he visibly flinched when she shoved the plaque bearing his name and the silver cross paperweight out of their alignment.

"Well, yes. You've talked to clients alone before so Momo scheduled it for you. Why? Is there a problem?" he inquired, growing concerned when she took on a distinct, green around the gills look.

"No, no problem. I'm a professional. I can handle this," she responded, talking more to herself than to him.

"That is why I hired you," he returned, taking a big bite of his scone.

Riko opened her mouth to speak but shoved her scone in her mouth to keep the awful words waiting there from flying out.

~...~

Riko had felt like crying soon after beginning the interview with the parents of the child dying of brain cancer. She was happy her boss had picked up on her sudden rise of emotions and took over to do the talking. Never would she have imagined that he had such a tender, caring side to him until seeing him conduct that interview with those parents who had received such a dismal and heart wrenching prognosis for their ten-year old son. She had gone in to sit with the child while her boss completed the interview. Her hand trembled as she held the small hand of the weakened and obviously tired child.

"Are you scared?" he asked her, squeezing her hand gently.

"No. Why?" she queried with a wavering smile. Her eyes looked into his green eyes that were dull and had sunken into his head slightly. Judging by his appearance, he did not have much longer. She wished she had stayed in the interview but somehow she had felt the need to come see the child.

"You're shaking. You don't have to be afraid. What I have isn't catching," he assured her, patting her hand.

"Oh, I know that," she returned with a nervous laugh. Pausing a moment, she lowered her eyes from his to study the IV tube coming out of the back of the small hand she held. Moving her eyes back to his, she asked, "Are you frightened?"

"No. Not really," he replied, giving her a winning smile. "What's your name?"

"Riko," she answered, returning his genuine smile that was positively contagious. "Yours is Isamu, isn't it?"

"It means courage," he said with pride.

"You are a very brave boy. Your parents must be so proud of you."

"You're pretty. Do you have a boyfriend?"

"As a matter of fact I do so slow your roll, Don Juan," she giggled, holding his hand tightly. "Were you applying for the job?"

"Awww, I can't now that I know you're taken. That just wouldn't be right." He beckoned her closer with a crooked finger to whisper in her ear. "He's a very lucky guy."

"I'll bring him by sometime so you can tell him," she whispered back. "Besides, I want him to know he has competition."

Riko smiled, stroking her hand over the child's smooth bare head. Despite the fact it was not reducing the tumor, the doctors were still issuing orders for chemotherapy drips. At least keeping the cancerous tumor from growing was buying the parents a little extra time with their son.

"Riko?" Uryū called from the door. "Time to go. Your eleven o'clock appointment is waiting in your office."

"I'll see ya later, kiddo," she said, giving Isuma a kiss on the forehead. His pale cheeks filled with color from her unexpected affectionate gesture. She thought it was cute that he had the same reaction her grown up boyfriend had when she kissed him. As they made their way back to the office building, her boss told her that he had already decided to approve their application to help pay for the mounting expenses.

"They're going to try a new experimental treatment on him next week," he informed her, scribbling notes on his legal pad. "They have insurance, but it has already been maxed out. Even so, it certainly would not pay for a drug that has not been officially approved for treatment. I know it seems futile but the hope it gives his parents -"

"Uryū?" She placed her hand on his arm to halt his words and his hurried steps.

He immediately ceased talking and walking, mostly due to being startled by hearing his first name coming out of her mouth. "Will you help me make a toy for him? A teddy bear maybe?"

"Sure. Of course. But you need to hurry to your office. Mr. Jaeggerjacques is waiting," he reminded her.

"Oh, he's not going anywhere. Trust me...I wouldn't be that lucky." Riko buttoned up the top two buttons of her magenta colored blouse as they continued on their way. She was thankful she had opted for the knee-length black pencil skirt instead of the shorter flared skirt.

"I'll be coming to get you at noon. We have a lunch meeting today with Misaomaru Kanonji," he told her, turning into his office. Misaomaru Kanonji was a loud, energetic, flamboyant, filthy rich, and highly irritating self-proclaimed spiritualist, better known as Don Kanonji, who had retired from his long running television show _Ghost Bust_ to devote his time and money to philanthropy. They were hoping to be the next recipients of one of his cash infused good deeds.

"Oh, my God! My day keeps getting better and better," she moaned, purposely dragging her feet as she continued down the hall to her office.

"If you would read your schedule you would know these things!" her boss exclaimed after leaning his head back out of his door.

Riko was glad she did not have anything in her hand because she would have thrown it at him. Was she supposed to come to work at seven in the morning to get ready for her day that was always overextended anyway? "Maybe your assistant could use an assistant!"

"That's actually not a bad idea. I'll think about it," he murmured as if he were already mulling it over.

"Riko, I've been waiting for you," a voice like good sex, deep and sensual, emanated out of her office.

"Dammit," she cursed under her breath, smoothing down her skirt with one hand and her fly away hair with the other. She hoped she did not look as frazzled as she felt. Extending her hand to him for a professional handshake, she grunted when she was crushed against the wall like chest for a hug.

"No need to be so formal with me. We're family," Grimmjow said, releasing her to give her his trademark carnivorous grin. The grin widened into a Cheshire Cat smile as he watched the swing of her hips when she walked around her desk to sit down.

_That's terrifying_, Riko thought to herself about his expression as she crossed her legs. "Why are you here, Mr. Jaeggerjacques? The hospital is already paying for my sister's bills and has approved payment for the baby's birth."

"That is why I'm here. I want to pay for it all. Right now. I also want to give a generous donation in my beloved's name," he told her, pulling a fat checkbook out of the breast pocket of his suit jacket.

Riko had been so disgusted by his mere presence she had not even regarded his appearance. He was wearing a snow-white designer suit with a sky blue tie and a pocket-handkerchief that matched his eyes and hair. She could not help but mentally note how well he would fit in with the color scheme around here. Him being around her all the time was a repulsive possibility but not as horrifying like the reality of him having complete control over her sister again. To distract herself from acting on the urge to claw his eyes out as they roamed over her body from head to toe, she began typing her sister's name into her computer to pull up the paid bill along with the projected total bill of the birthing expenses. After adding numbers quickly in her head, she threw out the high, five digit number to him. She was not surprised that he did not even bat one of his extremely long, almost feminine eyelashe at the number.

"The birthing expenses are projected costs using only base numbers assuming that it's a perfectly normal, uncomplicated birth," she advised him, raising as eyebrow as he began writing.

"This should cover it even if some unforeseen complications arise. Which I hope they don't," he added, giving her another feral smile. He ripped the check out of the book, standing up to hand it to her. "There will also be enough left over for a healthy donation as well. I do plan to make more donations in the future."

Riko nearly fell out of her chair when she saw the six digit number beginning with a five on the check. Swiftly composing herself and hoping he did not see the blush on her cheeks, she pushed the check under her keyboard to keep from gaping at it. Folding her hands over her belly, she leaned back in her chair to give him a hostile glower. "What do you expect in return?"

"Nothing of course. Don't be silly. I just want to take care of your sister and my child," he told her, walking around her desk to stand in front of her.

Riko turned her chair to face him, standing up as well because she felt too vulnerable to keep her seat while the man loomed over her. She moved behind the chair to position it between them. It could be used as a weapon if absolutely necessary. She could shove it into his shins to enable her to get to the door if she had to make a run for it.

"You're a liar," she mumbled angrily, backing away when he reached out his hand to her. This was the second time today she had accused a man pf being untruthful. It was her fondest wish the trend did not continue when she saw Ichigo later. She gasped when Grimmjow effortlessly plucked the chair from her hands, rolling it out of his way. A strangled yelp tore from her lips when her retreat was halted by the wall.

"You're a very smart woman," he virtually purred, trapping her between his body and the wall.

"You are a bastard," she growled through her teeth, attempting to slap him. Her assault was thwarted far too easily as he captured her wrist with his big hand. She bit her lower lip to keep from crying out when he squeezed her wrist mercilessly to grind the bones together.

"I'm keeping up appearances...hiding in plain sight so to speak. I want to appear to be like any other normal, run of the mill, boring ass businessman on this planet. I want to make my money, take care of my family, and do my good deeds to be thought of as Mr. Nice Guy," he murmured, leaning down until his lips were close to hers. "And you my lovely, are going to keep that pig boyfriend of yours and his colleagues away from me."

"Why would I do that?" she challenged, puffing out her chest. Unfortunately, it had the wrong effect on him which showed on his face when his blue eyes filled with unmistakable lust and he licked his lips suggestively.

"Because, sweetheart," he rumbled, his voice rolling through her body like thunder before it crashed into her brain. His fingers slid down her side, his hand coming to rest on the swell of her hip. "If you don't, I'll put a price on the spiky orange head of that cop you love. I have many friends that make it a hobby to kill pigs...they do it for fun. One more won't matter to them especially if there's a big cash pay off."

"You really are an asshole," she said in a voice stronger than she felt. She held her breath when his head moved a little lower, his lips hovering so close to hers she could feel his breath on her lips.

"It's up to you what happens to your boyfriend. In my business, painful sacrifices must sometimes be made. I'm willing to make those sacrifices," he threatened maliciously. His lips grazed her cheek when she turned her head to avoid his kiss. Since her ear was in front of his lips, he whispered, "What are you willing to sacrifice? The one you love...or your silence?"

"St-stop i-it...pl-please," she begged, fearing if she screamed he would hurt anyone who came into the office to help her. That would be **if** anyone heard her scream to come to her rescue. "I'll keep my mouth shut. I won't tell anyone," she promised just wanting this to be over and to get him out of her office. "Leave. Just leave."

Grimmjow laughed riotously to see the tears streaming down her cheeks while her body visibly trembled. He turned his back on her, moving in a graceful languid manner like a large predatory cat toward the door. Turning back before opening it, he said, "See ya Friday night...Sister."


	9. Chapter 9

I appreciate my beta, xfang-girlx, so much for reading over this chapter.

* * *

Riko had just put the final dish on the table when there was a knock on the door. Her boyfriend had promised that he and his partner would stop by for dinner since they were assigned to patrolling her part of town tonight. She ran to the door, sliding to a stop in front of it. Taking the time to smooth down her hair and the skirt she was still wearing from work, she waited for him to knock a second time before opening the door. Unexpectedly, a good-looking redhead grabbed her for a hug and swung her around. Releasing a squeal she hugged him back, ignoring the aggravated boyfriend standing behind him.

"Congratulations, sweetie! I'm so happy for you!" Renji exclaimed, giving her a brief kiss right on the lips.

"Hey, man, what the hell?" Ichigo growled, attempting to elbow the overly affectionate pineapple head out of the way. He was shockingly unsuccessful since his girlfriend was hanging on to the other man while jumping up and down excitedly.

"Oh, thank you, Renji! Can you believe it?" she asked, holding his hands as she virtually vibrated with excitement. She giggled with girlish glee; a sound her boyfriend had never heard her make before.

Neither one of them noticed when Ichigo moved past them both, following his nose to the food waiting on the table in the small dining area. He had awakened late for his shift and had not eaten yet so he was starving. He would allow them to have their giggle fest without him.

"No, I can't as a matter of fact," Renji replied with a chuckle, patting her cheek. "I've never seen you look so happy. You're virtually glowing. Have you two - "

"No! Not yet," she tittered, punching him in the arm as a dark red blush tinted her face.

"Girls, please!" Ichigo yelled from the dining nook tucked into the corner of the apartment between the kitchen and living room. "Dinner's getting cold."

"How do you stand his grumpiness?" Renji inquired, walking toward the table.

"Mmmm...it's one of his more endearing qualities," she responded, giving Ichigo a quick kiss on the lips before sitting down.

"It's about time I get to kiss _my _girlfriend," Ichigo grumbled, giving his partner a fierce glare.

"Jealous much?" Renji retorted, giving Riko a toothy grin and a conspiratorial wink.

"Hmph," Ichigo snorted like a grouchy old man.

"Hey, grandpa, I really like your girlfriend, " he joked, causing Riko to laugh.

"Shut up and eat, Renji," his friend muttered back making the other two chuckle. It was like being in the midst of two teenage girls. He was so happy dating Riko could bring those two together for a close relationship. "Maybe you two can have a slumber party sometime. You can braid each other's hair. You can stuff yourselves full of potato chips, chocolate, and soda."

"That actually sounds like a fabulous idea. Riko, what do you think?" the redhead asked, heaping food onto his plate.

Ichigo gave his girlfriend a warning glance when she opened her mouth to answer. "Don't even think about it."

Riko poked out her bottom lip in a mock, completely enjoying the light-hearted banter between them.

"I hear you two are going to dinner Friday night at the home of the man who is number one on our most wanted list," Renji said, watching her closely when the color drained from her face.

"Yeah," she mumbled in reply, dropping her fork onto her plate with a clatter. He had successfully killed her appetite with that one comment. Picking up the fork after receiving questioning stares from her dining companions, she shoved a fork full of food in her mouth without tasting it.

"I am going to take advantage that dinner by gathering information we can use against him. Since it will be a family dinner, he be sure to let his guard down. There will be a greater chance for him to slip up and say something incriminating. I will be wearing a wire and - " Ichigo halted talking when Riko began choking.

Riko drank half of her glass of water in an attempt to wash down the unchewed lump of food that she had accidentally inhaled and that was now lodged in her throat. She hoped Ichigo did not see her hand trembling while he stared at her. Did he and Renji talk about _everything_? Would his best friend and partner get a full detailed account of the first time they have sex? Glancing at Ichigo and remembering how awkward he could be when it came to intimate matters, she doubted it. Her face warmed with a blush that was a mixture of embarrassment and aggravation. Obviously police business was a different matter entirely. How dare he plan to wear a wire to what was supposed to be a _family _dinner. Nausea overwhelmed her with the thought of having to consider that animal Grimmjow as family. Picking up her glass again, she finished off the water wishing it was a beer. That man did not know when to stop being a cop and just be her boyfriend.

"As I was saying - " he began only to be forcefully interrupted.

"You can't," she nearly yelled, Grimmjow's threat replaying in her head.

"What?" He studied her carefully as she stood with her hands resting on the table with her palms flattened. The trembling was no longer effecting just her hands but her whole body as well. Was she angry or frightened...or both?

"You can't do that!" Riko shrieked, bordering on hysteria. She knew she was overreacting but could not stop herself. _What are you willing to sacrifice? His life..._ Those threatening words swirled around and around in her brain. "It's a family dinner. You can't go in there acting like a cop! Besides, what if he catches you, he might...he might..."

"He might what?" Ichigo asked, standing up to move toward her. He was shocked when she backed away from him.

Renji observed the interaction in stunned silence, carefully taking in Riko's every body movement and facial expression. He could tell that she was terrified. Grimmjow was well-known for using threats and intimidation. The man had done so many times before to make witnesses change their stories; those people were willing to risk jail time by lying on the stand under oath or becoming hostile witnesses who refused to speak at all. It was apparent to him that Grimmjow had gotten to her somehow. Why couldn't her boneheaded boyfriend see that?

"Ichigo, I - " He paused when the other man held up his hand. He sank back in his chair, relieved that Ichigo did know what was going on. The carrot top may be a bit thick-headed when it came to romantic issues but his instincts as a police officer were never off the mark.

"All right, Riko. I won't do it," he assured her, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her forehead, holding her tightly until her body stopped trembling. "I will go in there as your boyfriend and nothing more."

"Thank you," she sighed, nuzzling her face into his neck.

"Oh, my god you two. All of this romantic crap is making me lose my appetite," Renji groaned in an attempt to lighten the mood. He smiled at Riko who chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, this food is too good to go to waste," Riko said, giving her boyfriend another quick kiss on the lips before he let her go.

Ichigo gave her a grin to comfort her. For her and only her would he let it go this time. Seeing that his own girlfriend had been exposed to the unrelenting evil of that asshole only strengthened his resolve to bring down Grimmjow. One way or another, he would get Grimmjow Jaeggerjacques and put that man where he needs to be: locked in a prison somewhere to never harm anyone again.

~...~

Riko flipped through the patterns of various stuffed animals. She and her boss were spending their lunch hour searching for the perfect plushie to make for Isamu. Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! Lion. She picked up the pattern of a little lion with a mane like a sunburst around his head. He looked so cute and cheerful.

"What about this one?" she asked, showing the pattern to Uryū.

"A lion? I thought you said teddy bear," he reminded her. Apparently he was unaware that women had the right to change their mind any time they darn well pleased.

"Well, I think a lion would be better," she returned, tucking the pattern under her arm. "Isamu's name means courage. What represents courage better than a lion?"

"I see your point," he agreed, following her to the rolls of fabric that were as tall as her. He was glad he was tall enough to see over them otherwise he would lose her in the forest of sorts created by the numerous spools of cloth.

Riko slowly strolled amongst the giant cylinders searching for just the right color and texture of fabric. She felt like Goldilocks: this one's too coarse, this one's too dark, this one's too silky, this one's too light. Finally she came upon the one that was just right. The fabric was a golden brown, soft and fuzzy, giving it the texture of real fur. She found the same type of fabric in a cocoa brown color for his mane.

"I got it!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Uryū was ecstatic to hear that she had made her choices. Now they could make their purchase and get to the restaurant. He was starving. A smile curved his lips upward as he observed her chattering happily with the lady who was helping her figure out exactly how much cloth she would need for the project. He loved her excitement, her almost childlike joy over the simple project of making the stuffed toy for the child. Watching her reminded him why he had proposed the creation of his department: for the sheer happiness brought by helping people. So what if his father did not approve of his mission and seemed to fight against him at every turn? He knew the man would gladly shut him down if he could, but as long as his department was able to keep up their end of the bargain, by always having the funds to pay the bills, it would be safe from being dissolved. This seemed to irritate his father to no end that they were always able to meet their budget.

"Riko?" Uryū called to get her attention while the saleslady cut the fabric.

"Yes, sir?" she returned, turning to face him.

"We need to discuss ideas for the upcoming fundraiser," he reminded her.

"Oh, I've got just the thing," she said before launching into an explanation of her idea. She had already set up a meeting with Rangiku and Gin Ichimaru to discuss using their club and some of their employees. Dates with the women would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The employees would work on a strictly volunteer basis since they would foregoing their usual salary and tips. The auction would take place at the club. The 'dates' would take place there too so the girls could be supervised while kept in a controlled environment. This would generate money for the fundraiser and give the club owners free publicity in addition to a fantastic tax write off. It was a win-win situation.

"Are you serious?" he demanded, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Gin and Rangiku are wonderful people who would love to help. Besides, they could use it as a tax write off for charitable donations. Trust me, there are a lot of lonely people out there. It seems to be even more prevalent among the rich and overworked who would pay anything for a date with a pretty young thing," she offhandedly commented, receiving an awkward grin from the cute teenaged male cashier.

"Don't be afraid to tell me how you really feel," her boss muttered, rolling his eyes. Her bluntness still took him by surprise at times. He snatched the bags off the counter, following her out of the door. Once outside, he realized he must look like _her_ assistant since he was loaded down with the purchases while keeping close to her heels. Increasing his strides to walk next to her, he stole a glimpse at her face. Her eyebrows were drawn together and deep creases lined her forehead. What could she possibly be thinking about so intently? He did not have to wonder for long.

"I'm serious, Uryū. I didn't mean to sound so callous about it. There are a lot of lonely, hurting people out there who are willing to have a friendly companion for the night even if they have to pay for it," she said, sighing deeply before turning to look at him. "Think about where I used to work. I know what I'm talking about."

"So you're willing to capitalize on the pain of others?" he queried pointedly, startled that a grin tilted her lips.

"Why not? Other people do it and grow rich from it," she muttered, thinking about the man who held her sister captive in his malicious clutches.

Uryū became very sullen himself as his thoughts turned to his father. He had to agree that some people made an extremely successful life from the pain of others whether it be physical or mental. Sometimes he felt like even his own father was using him as a pawn in his own selfish game. However, he would not find that shocking at all. Ryūken Ishida was notorious for being cold-hearted, self-centered and only doing what could turn a monetary profit or provide some other self-serving gain. To his chagrin, his father had even gone as far as stealing away Ichigo's young bride-to-be. A blush tinted his cheeks from the memory. He was not sure who he felt worse for in that situation; his former best friend who had been jilted at the altar or the stupid young girl who had been used and thrown away like rubbish. It had all been done in the name of revenge against Isshin Kurosaki. It did not matter to his father that two innocent people were the ones hurt in the process.

"Uryū? Are you all right?" Riko inquired, bursting through his dark thoughts. She placed her hand against his upper arm feeling the tightly wound muscles beneath the material of his long-sleeved dress shirt.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he hurriedly answered, avoiding looking at her because he doubted she believed it. "What do you say we go back to the office and order something in? We'll get started on your little project here."

"Sure. That's fine," she responded, not pressing him for an opinion on her fundraiser idea. Besides, she was anxious to get started on the lion for Isamu. The experimental treatments would begin on Friday, and she wanted to get his stuffed animal to him before that. She had four days to get it done. With Uryū's help, she was confident she could get it completed in plenty of time.

~\0/~

Thursday morning, Uryū arrived at the office extra early with the expectation of getting there before his assistant. She had been coming in early all week to work on the stuffed animal in addition to the proposal she planned to take the owners of the _Stardust_ the following week. All of this was on top of their usual full day of interviews, processing applications, making phone calls, and returning phone calls. For a change, he had bought their morning coffee and scones. Opening the door to her office, he released a disappointed sigh. However, disappointment turned to amusement when he realized she was lying on the couch in her office asleep. There was a red pillow tucked under her head while the other pillows in every color of the rainbow were wedged around the rest of her body as if protecting her. His smile widened into a toothy grin when he saw the finished stuffed lion lying face down between her breasts while she hugged it tightly. He sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch, placing their coffee cups and the box of pastries beside him.

"Riko?" he called softly. When there was no reaction, he reached forward to gingerly push the lock of hair that fallen across her face behind her ear. "Riko."

Riko jumped in response to the feather light touch of his fingertips across her cheek. Sitting up a little too fast, she had to lie back down when dizziness made the whole room begin to spin. She was mortified to realize she had fallen asleep, and her boss was sitting in front of her attempting not to laugh.

"Why don't you take the day off? You're exhausted," he told her, smoothing the loose hair behind her ear again.

"I can't. We have three interviews with clients and two with benefactors. I also want to give Isamu his lion," she mumbled, sitting up gradually this time.

"Give Isamu his lion then get some rest. That's not a request. It's an order," he said, handing her the extra-large white chocolate latte.

"But what about - "

"You will be of no use to me if you become a patient at my father's hospital. You need to rest," he encouraged her, straightening his glasses. "But not before you give your favorite patient his lion."

~...~

Isamu was just finishing his breakfast when Riko arrived at his room. She held the lion behind her back before walking inside. When he did not seem to notice her, she called his name receiving a weak smile in return. Forcing the smile to stay on her lips, she concentrated on making her feet move her to the bed. He appeared even more weary and worn since the last time she had seen him. She prayed that these new experimental treatments would be the miracle that his parents were looking for - the miracle she now wanted for him.

"Riko, why are you here?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I brought you a present," she replied, sitting on the bed beside him. Pulling the toy from behind her back, she able to genuinely return his smile as a sparkle filled his cloudy green eyes.

"A lion! He's great! What's his name?" he inquired, poking the large white button she had sewn onto the lion's tummy for his belly button.

"I made him for you. It's your job to name him," she said, the smile on her lips broadening as he turned thoughtful.

"Hmmmm," he murmured, petting the large round head of the lion. After thinking briefly, he said, "Konpaku. I'll call him Kon for short."

"Konpaku?" she questioned him. She could not help but be curious as to why he chose that name.

"It means soul," he explained, putting his hand over hers that was resting on the bed next to him. His vivid green eyes looked straight into hers. "You put part of yourself, your love, your very soul into making this for me. Thank you."

Tears sprang to her eyes from the deep reasoning behind his choice of names. She leaned forward to kiss his forehead. He was like an old soul trapped in a child's body. It was as if he had lived many lifetimes before. She felt him grasping her hand as she leaned back to look at him. His eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

"What is it?" she asked, pressing her hand against his cheek.

"I'm scared," he whispered as if he did not want anyone else to hear his confession. "Can you stay with me for a while?"

Riko had planned on leaving after giving him the stuffed animal. There was no way she would leave him now. Nudging him a bit to scoot over, she positioned herself next to him to hold him in her arms. Once he was snuggled comfortably against her chest, she allowed her heavy eyelids to close. Her boss had told her to rest, but he had not specified as to where she should rest.

~...~

Uryū heard the yelling voices just before his office door flew open. He rose to his feet upon seeing the seething orange haired man standing in the middle of his office. Raising a questioning eyebrow, he stared at the man who was breathing so hard that his shoulders were raising and lowering with each heaving breath. Not only was it shocking to see his friend after so many years without contact, the irate man's present state was quite unexpected.

"Where is she?" Ichigo demanded.

"She was told to go home and get some rest," Uryū answered patiently without having to ask to whom he was referring.

"She's not there," he growled in return as if it was her boss's fault she had disappeared. He caught his breath while the man in front of him straightened his glasses as if it helped him determine her whereabouts.

"I know where she is. I'll take you to her," the other man offered, shrugging on his light blue suit coat.

Ichigo silently followed the stoic man to the elevator. He avoided looking at Uryū as the elevator slowly moved to the ground floor. He felt like he needed to say something. But what could he possibly say after all of these years? Fueled by his anger, he had acted impulsively not worrying about what came after he crashed into the man's office without provocation.

"I hear you've become a detective with your department," Uryū said as the doors opened on the ground floor. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I hear you're the department head of Financial Services," he returned, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "And my girlfriend's boss."

"So she's your girlfriend now?" he inquired, knowing full well exactly when it had happened because of the difference in his assistant. She had worn a wide, silly grin on her face for days. He would also catch her daydreaming and have to bring her attention back to the task at hand. Although it had bothered him at the time, mostly because he was jealous, he was quite happy for his friend who deserved someone like her. "Congratulations are in order for that as well then."

Ichigo did a double take, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at his old friend. Was he really happy about that? Judging by the relaxed grin on the man's face, he would have to say he was sincerely pleased. It was nice to see the stone faced Ishida smile. The only person he knew that smiled less than Uryū was...himself. Obviously his girlfriend had gotten to the Ice Prince as well. He had been afraid for years that the man would turn out to be just like his father, Ryūken.

"There's something you should know," Uryū said, stopping at the end of the walkway that led to the children's building. He waited for Ichigo to face him and look him in the eye before he continued. "I am very sorry for what my father did to you. I don't mean just the problem with your bride-to-be either. I am referring to his threatening you which ruined our friendship. I didn't find out until years later. By then, I thought it was too late for us to ever be friends again. I only hope that we can forge a new friendship from here."

Ichigo was taken aback momentarily not only by the frank statements but the fact that Uryū had found out about the threat. Glancing skeptically at the hand held out to him for a friendly handshake, he extended his hand to shake it.

"Where are we going?" Ichigo asked as they continued on their way.

"Isamu Kojima's room. She will be there with him," Uryū answered succinctly.

"Kojima? As in - "

"Mizuiro Kojima," he provided to complete the sentence. "Our classmate from Karakura High. His son is dying of a brain tumor."

"Oh, my god," his friend gasped unsure of how to react to the tragic news.

"Riko developed an affection for the child and I believe he cares quite a bit about her as well," the dark-haired man murmured pensively before adding," I can understand how he can feel that way."

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak but Uryū turned abruptly to nearly come nose to nose with him which shocked him into muteness. He studied the hard deep blue eyes that bore into his.

"I am not the kind of man my father is, I know how to keep my hands to myself. At this time, I view Riko as nothing more as my assistant and a work acquaintance. However, I must warn you," he stated, his voice taking on a deep, unveiled threatening tone. "If you ever do anything to hurt Riko...if you leave her broken hearted...I will be there to pick up the pieces. I will never ever let her return to you. I will treat her so well and love her so fully that you will be nothing but a distant memory of someone she used to know. Do you understand me?"

Ichigo swallowed audibly; the sound seemed incredibly loud in the strained hush encompassing them like four walls despite being in the middle of the sidewalk. Uryū did pick up one skill from his father: the ability to deliver a threat with cold emotionlessness that would strike the fear of God into Satan himself. "Yes, I understand. I also understand that this is bound to be an interesting _new_ friendship."

Uryū smiled. "At least we can agree upon that."


End file.
